One year out from the first primary in the 2012 season, a Gallup poll shows Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin in a virtual dead heat to claim the Republican Party’s presidential nomination.
Huckabee held a marginal lead in the poll, topping the field at 18%, with Palin and Romney close on his heels at 16% each. Given the poll’s 3% margin of error, the candidates are statistically tied at the front of the GOP pack.
Newt Gingrich took fourth place in the poll at 9%, followed by Ron Paul (5%) and Michele Bachmann (4%). Tim Pawlenty, Mitch Daniels, and Haley Barbour all garnered 3%, while Jon Huntsman took 2%.
There’s been little movement so far among the front runners in Gallup’s three national polls on the GOP primary. Romney lost the slim lead he had in the previous two polls, while Palin has checked in at 16% in all three. Huckabee has gained some steam, rising from 12% in September to 18% now.
Huckabee performed best in the Midwest and South, taking one-fifth and one-quarter of the vote in those areas respectively. Meanwhile, Romney, who has had trouble courting conservative voters, did best among the GOP candidates in the East and West, taking 20% and 21% of the vote in those regions.
The Gallup poll was conducted February 18-20 among 1,326 Republican and Republican leaning independents nationwide. It has a 3.0% margin of error.
