New Hampshire GOP Presidential Poll: Guess What "Non-Major" Candidate Tied For Second Place?

That would be Ron Paul, on the eve of Thursday's first GOP candidate debate in North South Carolina.

It's a very far second, yes, behind Mitt Romney at 35 percent. But Paul polled at 8 percent, tied with media funboy Donald Trump and don't-worry-about-him Rudy Giuliani.

Yes, that's ahead of such stars in the minds of their fans and enemies as Tim Pawlenty and Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich.

Many are yearning for non-candidates as well. Colin Powell would be the favorite of 30 percent of them were he a candidate. And 13 percent are still undecided.

The poll was done by Suffolk University, and involved live telephone interviews with 400 likely GOP primary voters in New Hampshire.

Matt Welch and I wrote yesterday on the Los Angeles Times' unilateral declaration of all non-Tim Pawlentys in the Thursday debate as "non major" candidates.