Newt Gingrich Leads Mitt Romney and Ron Paul in Florida

A poll released by Quinnipiac University on Thursday morning found former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich holds a solid lead over his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination in Florida.

Taking 35 percent, Gingrich leads the Republican field in Florida, followed by former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts with 22 percent. Businessman Herman Cain -- who pulled out Saturday while the poll was being compiled -- and U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas are tied in third with 8 percent. U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota and Gov. Rick Perry of Texas take 4 percent each, while former Gov. Jon Huntsman and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania trail behind with 2 percent apiece.

When the race was narrowed to the two leading Republicans, Gingrich prevails with 52 percent while Romney takes 34 percent.

"Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is no longer just the flavor of the month since his boomlet has now stretched from November into December and voting begins in Iowa in less than four weeks," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, on Thursday. "The suspension of Herman Cain's campaign is unlikely to hurt Gingrich and might help him vis-a-vis Romney by reducing the number of candidates courting tea party voters.

"Gingrich certainly has the momentum on his side and is peaking at the right moment, but Romney has the edge in money and organization, which can be important especially if the primary race turns out to be a long-drawn-out affair," added Brown. "It is worth remembering also that four years ago at this time, former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani was the Republican leader.

Brown noted that Romney could be helped in Florida by his large war chest.

Money might be more important here than in any of the early primary states, Brown said. That's because of the large number of expensive media markets where television ads cost a pretty penny. Romney's large lead over the field when it comes to cash reserves could be very important in deciding the outcome in Florida.

The survey of 509 Florida Republicans was taken Nov. 28-Dec. 5 with a margin of error of +/- 4.3 percent.