CMY conducts country stars for president poll

A little country royalty in the Oval Office might not be such a bad idea according to a recent CMT poll. Americans revealed they think George Strait and Reba McEntire are the most favored Presidential picks among top country artists. In a race close enough to demand a recount, “King” George was voted as best-suited to become commander-in-chief with 23% of the overall vote, while the fiery redhead came in a close second with 22% of the overall vote.

Although the race was tight across the board, Strait beat out McEntire among red states* (30% vs. 19%), McCain supporters (26% vs. 20%) and Gen Xers (23% vs. 17%). McEntire narrowly beat out Strait among women (23% vs. 22%, respectively). Her margin of victory was better among Generation Y adults 18-29 (23% vs. 17%), Obama supporters (24% vs. 19%) and blue states* (23% vs. 20%).

“George and Reba are always huge fan favorites on CMT, so it makes sense they would go head-to-head for the Oval Office,” said Jay Frank, SVP of music strategy, CMT. “I think George’s 50-plus #1 hits may have given him an edge in what is clearly the most important decision the country music fan had to make this season.”

Rounding out the top overall picks for President are:
· George Strait (23%)
· Reba McEntire (22%)
· Trace Adkins and Alan Jackson (tied for third with 14%)
· Brad Paisley and Kenny Chesney (tied for fourth with 6%)
· Carrie Underwood (5%)
· Keith Urban (4%)
· Alison Krauss, Gary LeVox of Rascal Flatts, Martina McBride and Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland (tied for seventh with 2%)

CMT commissioned the poll using a random, national representative study of 1,096 adults 18 and older. Artists included in the political poll were among those nominated for CMA Awards this year.

Visit CMT's press-only Web site http://www.cmtpress.com/ for more information and downloadable photos on all of CMT's programming.

*Red States and Blue States were defined according to whether the state-by-state presidency polls indicate a state’s leaning Republican or Democrat, respectively.