A new poll finds that former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, fresh from his win in the South Carolina primary on Saturday, now heads the field of Republican presidential hopefuls in Florida leading up to the Jan. 31 primary.
While former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts led by more than 20 points in a Rasmussen Reports poll of Florida less than two weeks ago, Gingrich now leads a Rasmussen poll of likely primary voters released Monday morningwith 41 percent. Romney is in second with 32 percent. Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania stands in third with 11 percent, followed by U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas. Nine percent are undecided.
The poll also found the race remains fluid. Thirty-two percent of those surveyed say they can still change their minds before the primary. Fifty-nine percent say they will stick with their candidate no matter what -- including 62 percent of Gingrich backers and 73 percent of Romney supporters. Romney has done well with the 14 percent of the total surveyed who opted for early voting, leading Gingrich by 11 percent. The former congressional leader beats out Romney by 12 points among those who have yet to cast their vote.
While Gingrich may be leading in the poll, a majority -- 52 percent -- believe Romney will be the nominee, while 35 percent think Gingrich will emerge with the nomination. The Rasmussen poll from two weeks ago found 79 percent of Florida Republicans thought Romney would be the nominee.
According to the poll, more Florida Republicans think Gingrich can do best against President Barack Obama than Romney will come November. Forty-two percent see Gingrich as a better candidate in the general election while 39 percent think Romney will do better in November. Florida Republicans have no doubt who the weakest candidate would be against Obama, with 64 percent of them saying it would be Paul.
The poll finds that Florida Republicans see Romney as more capable of turning around the economy than Gingrich by 15 percent. Gingrich is seen as much better on defense issues, with 54 percent of those surveyed saying he is the best-qualified candidate in that area. Neither Gingrich nor Romney has an edge on social issues as they both scored 30 percent apiece when Florida Republicans were asked who was better on those matters. Forty-one percent of those surveyed say Romney has the best character, while only 11 percent believe Gingrich has the best character.
Still, Gingrich scores points with Florida conservatives. He holds a 28-point lead with very conservative voters and 7 points among somewhat conservative ones. Fifty-two percent of tea party supporters back Gingrich, compared to only 17 percent for Romney and 16 percent for Santorum.
The poll of 750 likely Florida Republican primary voters was taken Jan. 22 and had a margin of error of +/- 4 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
