Poll: Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, Ron Paul and Bachmann in Close Fight With Obama

A poll released by Gallup on Monday found former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts beating President Barack Obama among registered voters 48 percent to 46 percent. Obama was tied with Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, who announced earlier in the month that he was running, with both candidates taking 47 percent.

Obama did better against two congressmen -- but just barely. The president led U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas by only 2 percent, beating the libertarian Republican 47 percent to 45 percent. U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, who won the Iowa Republican straw poll earlier in the month, also came close to leading Obama. She took 44 percent while Obama garnered 48 percent.

While he was doing well with Democrats, Obama was losing among independents to most of the Republican hopefuls. Romney and Paul both led Obama by 3 percent among independents while Perry beat out the president by 2 points with that key voter group. Obama did lead Bachmann among independent voters, topping the Minnesota congresswoman by 6 percent.

The Gallup poll of 879 registered voters was taken on Aug. 18 and 19 and had a margin of +/- 4 percent.