Rasmussen’s latest has some good news for Mitt Romney, and some bad news for the rest of the GOP field, particularly Michele Bachmann.
As of now, the 2012 Republican Presidential Primary race is all about Texas Governor Rick Perry and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, with no other candidate reaching double-digit support.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely GOP Primary voters shows Perry with 28% support and Romney capturing 24%. Before Perry entered his first debate, the Texan held an eleven point advantage over Romney, 29% to 18%.
Trailing far behind the frontrunners are former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at nine percent (9%), Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann at eight percent (8%), Georgia businessman Herman Cain with seven percent (7%) support and Texas Congressman Ron Paul who earns six percent (6%). Rick Santorum, former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, draws the vote from three percent (3%) while ex-Utah Governor Jon Huntsman draws support from two percent (2%). Michigan Congressman Thad McCotter comes in with just one percent (1%) of the vote. Another 11% of GOP voters are undecided at this time.
The stakes for tomorrow night’s debate grew a bit with this poll along with the findings of the Marist poll cited earlier, which shows that a majority of Americans expect Obama to be unseated by the eventual GOP nominee. The polls will fluctuate greatly over the coming year, but as things stand now the GOP nominee is well positioned to become the next president.
Perry will have to find a way to start closing out Romney, whose attacks from the left on Social Security seem to be having an impact and who has a massive campaign war chest to spend attacking him. Michele Bachmann’s attacks on Perry from LaRouche land seem to have had an impact too — on her own candidacy, as she has slipped behind Newt Gingrich.
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