COLUMBIA (WACH) - A national GOP Poll by Rasmussen Reports shows the race for the Republican Presidential nomination is nearly even with Newt Gingrich only trailing Mitt Romney by three points.
According to the latest national telephone survey of likely Republican Primary voters nationwide, Romney leads with 30 percent support and Gingrich follows closely with 27 percent of the vote. Rick Santorum, who was running second two weeks ago, has now dropped to 15 percent.
Thirteen percent of likely primary voters support Ron Paul, while Rick Perry remains in last place with four percent. Another four percent like some other candidate in the race, and seven percent are undecided.
Despite his 8 point lead over Perry, Paul remains the GOP candidate viewed as the weakest potential challenger.
The jump in Gingrich’s support nationally comes after a Monday night debate in which most analysts said the former speaker did very well. Immediately prior to that debate, Romney’s lead had grown in South Carolina. Romney also has a big lead in the Jan. 31 Florida Primary.
Read the full report.
See the survey question wording.
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