Two polls released on Tuesday find former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich in a close battle to win the Republican presidential primary on Tuesday.
A poll of likely Florida Republican primary voters from We Ask America, unveiled on Tuesday, finds Romney with a small lead, taking 34 percent, while Gingrich is right on his tail with 32 percent. Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania edges U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas for third. Santorum stands with 9 percent in the poll while Paul garners 8 percent. Seventeen percent remain undecided with a week to go until the primary.
Forty-five percent of those surveyed think Romney will win the nomination, while 34 percent say Gingrich will. Four percent say Santorum will end up as the nominee and the same percentage think Paul will win the nomination.
The poll of 946 likely Florida Republican primary voters was taken on Jan. 23 and had a margin of error of +/- 3.19 percent.
A poll of registered Republicans from the Florida Chamber of Commerce conducted by Cherry Communications also showed a close contest, with Romney and Gingrich each drawing 33 percent. Santorum came in third with 10 percent and Paul lagged with 6 percent.
Marian Johnson, the senior vice president of political operations for the Florida Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement that the poll showed that Romney and Gingrich need to focus on the Sunshine State in the coming week.
Its clear that both candidates need to aggressively campaign for votes in Florida, Johnson said.
The poll also found that Florida Republicans gave both Romney and Gingrich good marks. Sixty-five percent of those surveyed see Romney as favorable while 22 percent see him as unfavorable. Sixty percent see Gingrich in a favorable light, while 28 percent view him as unfavorable.
Gov. Rick Scott also does well in the poll, despite a bitter primary fight against then-Attorney General Bill McCollum for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 2010. While Scott would go on to win the closest gubernatorial contest in the more than 165 years of Florida statehood, McCollum refused to endorse him.
Sixty-seven percent of Florida Republicans see Scott as favorable and 18 percent view him as unfavorable. Florida Republicans gave Scott higher marks for his tenure in Tallahassee. Seventy-one percent approve his performance as governor while 15 percent disapprove of it.
The poll of 504 registered Florida Republicans was conducted from Jan. 22-23 and had a margin of error of +/- 4.4 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
