Despite Gingrich Polling Gains, Republican Primary Voters Haven’t Ruled Out Romney
A new Pew Research Center poll points out the volatility of the 2012 Republican Presidential nomination race
Newt Gingrich holds a substantial 35% to 21% lead over Mitt Romney among Republican and Republican-leaning independent voters who say they are very likely to vote in the GOP primaries or caucuses, according to the latest national survey conducted Dec. 7-11 by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.
But clear majorities say there is at least a chance they would vote for either Gingrich or Romney in Republican primaries in their state. None of the other Republican candidates draws nearly as much potential support.
The survey finds that neither Gingrich nor Romney is drawing much in the way of strong support. Just 29% of Republican and Republican-leaning voters who favor Gingrich for the nomination support him strongly; 69% support him “only moderately.” Similarly, far fewer GOP voters support Romney strongly (33%) than support him only moderately (66%). Support for both Gingrich and Romney is softer than was support for the leading GOP candidates four years ago.
Most likely meaning: this could be a long, drawn out race since so many GOPers are up for grabs
One Response to “Despite Gingrich Polling Gains, Republican Primary Voters Haven’t Ruled Out Romney”
Not that it matters at this early date, but:
From Public Policy Polling (which seems to be the NEW most accurate numbers) 12/13/2011:
“Gingrich has dropped 5 points in the last week and he’s also seen a significant decline in his favorability numbers. Last week he was at +31 (62/31) and he’s now dropped 19 points to +12 (52/40). The attacks on him appear to be taking a heavy toll- his support with Tea Party voters has declined from 35% to 24%.
Paul meanwhile has seen a big increase in his popularity from +14 (52/38) to +30 (61/31). There are a lot of parallels between Paul’s strength in Iowa and Barack Obama’s in 2008- he’s doing well with new voters, young voters, and non-Republican voters:”
http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2011/12/paul-closes-in-on-gingrich.html