A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday revealed that former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts is leading the race for the Republican presidential nomination and doing better against President Barack Obama than any of his primary rivals.
Romney leads among Republicans and GOP-leaning independent voters, taking 25 percent. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is second with 15 percent, while businessman Herman Cain takes third with 9 percent.
Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia and U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas are tied for fourth with 8 percent, followed by two Minnesotans -- U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann with 6 percent and former Gov. Tim Pawlenty with 5 percent. Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, who officially entered the race Monday, stands at 4 percent, while former Gov. Jon Huntsman of Utah lags behind with 1 percent.
In Qunnipiacs last poll released in early May, Romney had a slight lead over Palin and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee who announced later in the month that he was not running.
"Whether it's because of the media coverage of his recent formal announcement, or the fact that Donald Trump and Mike Huckabee have dropped out, Governor Romney has surged ahead of the Republican field, said Peter Brown,assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. Until now Quinnipiac University's polls have shown many candidates bunched together in the midteens; now he [Romney] has opened up some daylight on the field and is within 6 points of the president."
While the poll found that only 46 percent of those surveyed thought he deserved a second term while 48 percent thought he did not, Obama beat all of the Republicans he was matched against in the poll.
As Brown notes, the poll found that Romney comes closer to beating Obama than any of the other candidates -- but the incumbent is still ahead. Obama took 47 percent in the poll with Romney garnering 41 percent.
Obama leads the other Republicans by double digits in the poll. The president leads Pawlenty by 12 points, taking 48 percent compared to the former Minnesota governors 36 percent. Obama took 48 percent against Hunstman, who followed with 34 percent. Obama did best against Palin, crushing the former Alaska governor by 17 points: Obama took 53 percent while Palin trails with 36 percent.
With both Romney and Huntsman being Mormons, Quinnipiac asked questions about whether Americans were comfortable with a president with Mormon beliefs. Of those surveyed, 60 percentexpressed some level of comfort while 36 percent expressed some discomfort. The poll found 83 percent were comfortable with a Catholic in the White House while 13 percent were not; 80 percent of those surveyed were comfortable with a Jewish president as opposed to 15 percent who were uncomfortable with the idea. While 67 percent were comfortable with an evangelical president, 26 percent were not; 38 percent were comfortable with a Muslim president while 59 percent were uncomfortable with it. Only 37 percent were comfortable with an atheist in the White House while 60 percent found that uncomfortable.
The poll did hold a few warnings for Romney and Huntsman. While 32 percent of those surveyed had an unfavorable view of Mormonism, 45 percent had a favorable one. The poll also found that many Americans do not think Mormonism is compatible with their own faiths. While 25 percent found some similarities between Mormomism and their own beliefs, a whopping 68 percent believed they were more different.
"It appears that the American people -- especially Democrats -- have many more questions about a Mormon in the White House than they do about followers of other religions," noted Brown. "And most don't see much similarity between their religion and Mormonism.
"The fact that less than half of voters have a favorable view of the religion is likely to be a political issue that Governor Mitt Romney and, should his campaign catch on, Governor Jon Huntsman will have to deal with as they pursue the White House," added Brown.
"The fact that only one in three voters would be comfortable with an atheist in the White House explains why candidates make a point of emphasizing their religious beliefs, continued Brown.
The poll was taken between May 31-June 6. The poll of 1,946 registered voters had a margin of error of +/- 2.2 percentage points. The Republican primary questions were asked of 830 voters and had a margin of error of +/- 3.4 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com, or at (850) 727-0859.
