A poll unveiled Tuesday from Public Policy Polling (PPP), a firm with connections to prominent Democrats, found Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, who has been in the race for less than two weeks, leading the Republican pack in Iowa, home of the first caucus.
Perry topped the poll with 22 percent, followed by former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts with 19 percent. U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, who won the Iowa straw poll in Ames earlier in the month, placed third with 18 percent followed by U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, who placed second in Ames, with 16 percent.
The rest of the field trailed in single digits. Businessman Herman Cain garnered 7 percent followed by former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania who were tied with 5 percent. Former Gov. Jon Huntsman of Utah took 3 percent.
When former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who has not entered the race, was added to the mix, the leaders were not severely impacted. Perry led with 21 percent followed by Romney with 18 percent, Bachmann with 15 percent and Paul in fourth with 12 percent. Palin took fifth place with 10 percent.
The Iowa Republicans surveyed held favorable views of most of the candidates. Perry did the best, with 56 percent seeing him favorably while 32 percent viewed him as unfavorable. Paul also did well, with 53 percent seeing him as favorable while 29 percent saw him unfavorably. Despite trailing in single digits, the Iowa Republicans viewed Santorum, who came in fourth in Ames, favorably. Forty-four percent of those surveyed saw Santorum in a favorable light while 22 percent viewed him as unfavorable -- the lowest unfavorable numbers of any of the major candidates.
A majority of Iowa Republicans -- 52 percent -- saw Palin as favorable while 36 percent saw her unfavorably. Despite her triumph in Ames, 35 percent had unfavorable views of Bachmann while 47 percent saw her favorably. Romney, who ignored the straw poll in Ames, was seen as favorable by 45 percent and unfavorable by 38 percent. Forty-two percent saw Cain favorably while 35 percent saw him unfavorably.
Two of the major candidates were upside down in Iowa. Forty-two percent saw Gingrich as favorable while 44 percent viewed him unfavorably. Huntsman, who has ignored Iowa, was seen as favorable by only 13 percent while 40 percent saw him as unfavorable.
Three of the dark horses in the race were also upside down but largely unknown. Former Gov. Gary Johnson of New Mexico was viewed favorably by 5 percent and unfavorably by 31 percent. Activist Fred Karger was seen as favorable by only 3 percent while 25 percent saw him in an unfavorable light. Former Gov. Buddy Roemer of Louisiana was seen as favorable by 1 percent while 34 percent saw him as unfavorable.
The Perry camp can point to its candidates momentum in Iowa. In a PPP poll of Iowa Republicans released in May, Perry garnered mixed marks -- 21 percent saw him as favorable while 16 percent viewed him as unfavorable. Paul and Santorum were the only other two candidates to get bounces in their favorability since May. In May, 42 percent saw Paul as favorable and 29 percent saw Santorum in a favorable light.
Most of the other candidates numbers have dropped since May. Bachmann experienced the biggest slide from her 53 percent favorability and 16 percent unfavorable number in May, though Palin, Romney and Cain all saw a decline in their numbers as well.
All the momentum in the Republican race is on Rick Perrys side now, said Dean Debnam, the president of PPP. Michele Bachmanns growing support over the last two months has now stopped and Mitt Romney is actually losing voters in Iowa.
The poll of 317 usual Iowa Republican primary voters was takenAug. 19-21 and had a margin of error of +/- 5.5 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
