According to the latest poll, Attorney General Terry Goddard leads all potential Republican challengers in his bid to become the next governor of Arizona -- even Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who has been hinting at a run for months but is not officially a candidate.
The poll was conducted by the North Carolina-based firm Public Policy Polling, and shows Goddard with a slim lead over both Governor Jan Brewer and Arpaio, leading each 47 percent to 44 percent.
Against other potential GOP candidates, Goddard fares even better.
According to the poll, against Treasurer Dean Martin, who also has officially declared himself a Republican candidate for the office, Goddard leads 47 to 36 percent, and has nearly identical numbers against possible Republican candidates John Munger and Owen "Buz" Mills.
These most recent numbers are a far cry from a similar poll conducted in November.
In November, a Rasmussen poll showed that Arpaio -- should he run -- would mop the floor with Goddard, leading the AG 51 to-39 percent.
Based on the November poll, Brewer trailed Goddard 44 to 35 percent, and Martin seemed to be the lead Republican -- aside from Arpaio -- trailing the AG 40 to 38 percent.
Arpaio has hinted at running for the state's top spot several times in the past, and most recently has been reported to be shopping around for companies that could collect enough signatures to get his name on the ballot.
"I'm just doing my homework," Arpaio told the Arizona Guardian a few weeks ago. "I'm looking for a company that's reliable and professional in case I need one."
Arpaio would have to abandon his post as sheriff to run, and, as we've stated in prior posts, considering his recent 39-percent approval rating, our guess is that this is just hoax to get some headlines that don't have in them the words "corruption" or "investigation."
