A CNN/ORC International Poll released on Monday found that former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich is leading the pack of Republican presidential candidates.

Gingrich takes 24 percent in the national poll while former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts is within the margin of error at 20 percent. Last week, a CNN/ORI poll had Romney ahead 24 percent with Gingrich in second with 22 percent.

A Rasmussen Reports poll released on Monday found that Gov. Rick Scott was upside down with Florida voters as his first year in office draws to a close. The poll found that 51 percent of likely voters disapproved of Scotts performance in Tallahassee while 42 percent approved of it.

A poll of likely Republican primary voters unveiled by American Research Group on Monday found that former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts continued to lead in New Hampshire, home of the first presidential primary.

U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, now making his third bid for the White House, joined more than 20 other members of Congress in signing a letter to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction urging them to cut congressional compensation. Paul also promised to take less than $40,000 in annual salary if elected president.

A USA Today/Gallup poll unveiled Monday morning finds that former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich is battling former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts to lead the Republican presidential race.

Republican presidential hopeful Gov. Rick Perry of Texas is looking to appeal to conservatives fed up with Washington. In a commercial released this weekend, Perry calls himself a Washington outsider and promises Congress will balance the budget or see a pay cut.

On Friday, the U.S. House of Representatives failed to pass a measure to amend the U.S. Constitution by adding a balanced budget amendment. Supporters of the proposed amendment needed 284 votes to muster a two-third majority, and came up short --garnering 261 votes while 165 votes were cast against it. The last time the proposed amendment came up for a vote in the House, back in 1995, the measure passed with 300 votes though it failed byone vote in the U.S. Senate.

U.S. Rep. Connie Mack, who is expected to enter the Republican primary field, leads Democratic incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in a poll from Rasmussen Reports released on Friday.

Mack takes 43 percent of the likely voters surveyed, while Nelson --who won the seat back in 2000 when Macks father retired --takes 39 percent.

Now leading the pack of Republican presidential candidates in national polls, former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich has surged in the early key states.

A Magellan Strategies poll for the New Hampshire Journal released on Friday found that Gingrich is now on the heels of former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts in the Granite State. Romney has been leading in polls of the first primary state throughout the year.

Sunshine State News is hitting the radio airwaves on Wednesday at 3 p.m. I will be on the Ed Dean radio show, which is hosted by one of the most feisty, informative and entertaining conservatives in Florida. It can be heard online here and on two stations in South Florida -- 89.3 on the west coast and 90.3 on the Atlantic coast.