A new national Washington Post/ABC News poll from Langer Research Associates found that businessman Herman Cain is surging in the Republican presidential race after his win at the Presidency 5 straw poll in Orlando last month.
Former Gov. Mitt Romney topped the poll with 25 percent while Cain tied Texas Gov. Rick Perry for second with 16 percent -- a reversal of fortune for both men from a Washington Post/ABC News poll taken at the end of August and start of September. In that poll, Perry led with 29 percent and Cain lagged well behind the front-runners with 4 percent.
U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas stood in fourth in the new poll with 11 percent, followed by former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota who were knotted together in fifth with 7 percent. Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum garnered 2 percent while former Gov. Jon Huntsman of Utah lagged with 1 percent.
When two candidates who have left the door open to running -- Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey and former Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska -- were added to the mix, Romney remained in the lead. With both Christie and Palin included, Romney took 21 percent followed by Perry and Cain tied for second with 14 percent. Christie stood in fourth with 10 percent followed by Palin and Paul who were tied for fifth with 9 percent. Gingrich followed with 6 percent and Bachmann pulled 4 percent. Santorum and Huntsman trailed with 1 percent apiece.
When Christie was included and Palin left out of the equation, Romney led with 22 percent followed by Perry with 15 percent. Cain took third with 14 percent while Christie and Paul tied for fourth with 11 percent. Gingrich garnered 7 percent followed by Bachmann with 6 percent. Santorum took 2 percent and Huntsman stood at 1 percent.
With Palin included and Christie excluded, Romney topped the field with 23 percent followed by Perry and Cain tied in second with 16 percent each. Palin placed fourth with 10 percent followed by Paul with 9 percent. Gingrich took 7 percent while Bachmann garnered 4 percent. Santorum and Huntsman were at the bottom of the poll with 1 percent each.
The poll also found that President Obama remained vulnerable as he seeks a second term in 2012. He was upside down in the poll, with 54 percent of those surveyed disapproving of his performance in the White House -- and 40 percent of them strongly disapproving. Forty-two percent of those surveyed approved of the job Obama was doing.
Despite those numbers, Obama had a small lead over some of the Republican hopefuls. He led Romney by the skin of his teeth, beating the Republican 47 percent to 46 percent. Obama did slightly better against Christie, edging him 46 percent to 44 percent. The president did the best against Perry, beating him 49 percent to 44 percent.
The poll of 1,002 adults taken from Sept. 29 through Oct. 2 had a margin of error of +/- 4 percent. The sample of voters leaning toward taking part in the Republican primary process had a margin of error of +/- 6 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
