NBC/Marist Poll: Romney Up 15 Points Over Gingrich

Each new poll that coming out of Florida has worse news for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. I guess this one suggests voters didn’t suddenly run to him following Sarah Palin’s defense of him:

Mitt Romney may be on his way to a decisive victory in the Florida GOP primary Tuesday, according to a new NBC/Marist poll.

Romney leads Newt Gingrich by 15 points, 42 percent to 27 percent in the crucial state. Rick Santorum is third with 16 percent, followed by Ron Paul with 11 percent. Just 4 percent said they were undecided.

“The bottom line in all this is Romney’s sitting in the driver’s seat going into Tuesday,” said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion at Marist College, who conducted the poll.

If Romney pulls off a victory of that magnitude, he could be on a glide path to the nomination. But there are warning signs for the Republican Party that the primary has taken a toll on Romney and the rest of the GOP field. Each of the candidates struggles in a general-election matchup with President Barack Obama in this swing state, especially with independents.

The danger here is that Gingrich will feel so angry that it’ll become even more personal with Romney that it already is. Key question Tuesday: will Santorum’s vote show he has gotten some former Gingrich voters? Or will those that defect go to Romney?