While Texas Gov. Rick Perry stumbled atthe Republican Party of Floridas Presidency 5 debate in Orlando on Thursday night, a national poll released on Monday found he still led the pack of candidates for the Republican presidential nomination.
The CNN/ORC International Poll, which was taken from Friday through Sunday, found Perry in front with 30 percent, followed by former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts with 22 percent. Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich placed third with 11 percent.
The rest of the field trailed in single digits. Herman Cain, who won the Presidency 5 straw poll in Orlando on Saturday night, took fourth with 9 percent, with U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas behind him with 7 percent. U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota placed sixth with 6 percent. Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania took seventh with 3 percent while former Gov. Jon Huntsman of Utah lagged behind with 1 percent.
When former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who has left the door open to running, was added to the mix, Perry still led the pack with 28 percent. Romney placed second in that scenario with 21 percent and Gingrich remained in third with 10 percent.
Palin tied with Paul and Cain for fourth place as all three candidates were knotted together with 7 percent apiece. Bachmann dropped to 4 percent while Santorum remained with 3 percent and Huntsman continued with 1 percent.
The poll found President Barack Obama remains vulnerable as he seeks another term in 2012 with 52 percent of those surveyed disapproving of his performance. Forty-five percent of those polled approved of Obama.
Despite those numbers, Obama bested the Republicans in general election matchups. While Obama crushed Palin and Bachmann by double digits, three of the other Republicans came close to topping the president in the poll. Obama beat Perry 51 percent to 46 percent. Paul did slightly better than his fellow Lone Star State Republican, taking 47 percent while Obama led with 51 percent. Romney did best when matched up against Obama, taking 48 percent while the presided garnered 49 percent.
The poll of 1,010 American adults and 447 likely Republican voters was taken from Sept. 23-25 and had a margin of error of +/- 3 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
