A new Rasmussen poll suggests that Sarah Palin should not be viewed as a favorite for the Republican nomination in 2012, with her trailing both Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee by wide margins in head-to-head match-ups.
Romney leads Palin by 52%-37% among likely GOP primary voters, and Huckabee is ahead by 55%-35%.
The pollster’s analysis also finds that Mitt Romney’s Mormon religion is still a liability, with him losing to Palin by 14 points among evangelical Christians, while leading her among other Protestants, Catholics and other groups. By contrast, the former Southern Baptist minister Mike Huckabee leads Palin by 17 points among evangelicals.