Herman Cain Leading the GOP Pack With Iowa's GOP Voters

A poll released on Thursday found that businessman Herman Cain now leads the pack of Republican presidential candidates in Iowa --the state that holds the first in the procession of primaries and caucuses that will determine who emerges to take on President Barack Obama in November 2012.

Cain tops the poll from Rasmussen Reports of likely Iowa Republican caucus voters with 28 percent followed by former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts with 21 percent. U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, who took a strong second in the Iowa Republican straw poll in August, stands in third with 10 percent.

The rest of the pack is in single digits. Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich garners 9 percent while U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, who won the straw poll in August, places fifth with 8 percent. Gov. Rick Perry, who led in a Rasmussen poll of Iowa in early September, now stands in sixth in the Hawkeye State with 7 percent. Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania takes 4 percent while former Gov. Jon Huntsman of Utah, who has largely ignored Iowa, has the backing of 2 percent.

The poll of 800 likely Iowa Republican caucus voters was taken on Oct. 19 and had a margin of error of +/- 4 percent