A new Sunshine State poll of Florida shows former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney head and shoulders above the rest of the GOP field in the state, taking 46 percent of the Republican electorate. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is second with 20 percent, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum is third with 12, Rep Ron Paul (R-TX) has 9, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry sees 3 percent.
The exit of former Ambassador and Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman on Monday seems to benefit Romney the most, as the poll distributed his votes to the second choices of respondents. From Sunshine State News:
When Huntsman was included in the poll, Romney was ahead with 44 percent, Gingrich took second with 20 percent and Santorum remained third with 12 percent. Paul had 8 percent, while Huntsman took 5 percent, followed by Perry with 3 percent. One percent of those surveyed backed other candidates, and 8 percent were undecided.
The current TPM Poll Average shows Romney with a twenty point lead in the Florida race.
