Public polling is now showing that the race between former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney very tight as the two men battle for the Sunshine State’s delegates. A new CNN/TIME survey shows Romney up by two points there, after Gingrich held the lead in a few snap polls of the state after his big win in the South Carolina primary. Romney gets 36 percent to Gingrich’s 34, with former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum at 11 and Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) sees 9 ahead of the January 31st vote.
The new poll was conducted completely after Gingrich’s South Carolina win, and straddles an NBC debate held in Tampa on Monday night. “Gingrich’s post-Palmetto State bounce did not last long,” said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland in their write up. “Monday’s debate may have something to do with that, but the data indicate that the shift to Romney began before the debate started, so there are clearly other forces at work.”
The new TPM Poll Average shows Romney up by 5.5 percent taking the lead back from Gingrich after the former Speaker held it for four days.
