A new poll out from Public Policy Polling (D) shows former House Speaker Newt Gingrich with a five point lead over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney as the two men prepare to battle it out Monday night in Tampa at the NBC debate. Gingrich gets 38 percent in the new survey to Romney’s 33 percent, with former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum receiving 13 percent and Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) getting 10.
Gingrich and Romney have essentially traded places after Newt’s huge win in the South Carolina primary, as the PPP numbers back up (although a little less severely) new Rasmussen and InsiderAdvantage data that showed Gingrich with a nine point lead. The TPM Poll Average of the Florida GOP contest pins Newt’s lead at 8.8 percent.
But it’s not all completely dire from Romney. The PPP analysis shows some staying power for the former governor, who has done very well in the state during various points along the 2012 race. From PPP:
The good news for Romney is that has a lead banked. 16% of the folks we polled said they already voted, and they support him by a 43-40 margin. He’s also more popular than Newt with a 61% favorability rating to Gingrich’s 57%. There are a significant number of voters who like Mitt but aren’t currently planning to vote for him- if Gingrich has an Iowa style implosion in the next 8 days there are plenty
of folks who are going to be comfortable moving toward him.
