Mitt Romney rolled over the competition in Nevada’s 2008 Republican caucus, and a new PPP poll has him in good shape to come out on top there again in 2012.
In the poll, 31% of respondents said Romney was their first choice, compared to 19% who supported Sarah Palin. Newt Gingrich finished a close third at 18%, followed by Mike Huckabee (14%), and Ron Paul (7%). Mitch Daniels, Tim Pawlenty, and John Thune each drew support from 1% of respondents.
An additional 8% said they were undecided, or planned to vote for someone not presented in the poll.
Romney dominated the competition in Nevada in 2008, crushing runner-up Ron Paul 55%-14%. If he were to win there again and go on to claim the party’s nomination, a PPP poll released last week shows that he would give Obama a strong challenge in the general election. In that poll, Romney trailed the President by just one point, 47%-46%.
The PPP poll was conducted January 3-5 among 400 Nevada GOP primary voters. It has a margin of error of 4.9%.
