Herman Cain Beating Out Mitt Romney to Lead in South Carolina

An NBC/Marist poll released on Wednesday morning found businessman Herman Cain leading former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts in South Carolina, the first state in the South to hold a presidential primary. Cain took 30 percent in the poll with Romney in a close second with 26 percent. Gov. Rick Perry of Texas was a distant third at 9 percent followed by former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich with 6 percent and U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas who was tied with U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota with 5 percent each.

The poll of 639 likely South Carolina Republican primary voters was conducted Oct. 11-13 and had a margin of error of +/- 3.9 percent.