Poll: Cain Moves Into Tie With Romney

Poll: Cain Moves Into Tie With Romney

By Kyle Adams - October 13, 2011


Former Godfather's Pizza CEO Herman Cain has moved into tie with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney at the top of the GOP presidential field, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has surged into third place, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll released Thursday.

Cain and Romney lead with 29 percent each. Gingrich has 10 percent support, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry has 9 percent. Texas Rep. Ron Paul has 5 percent, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann has 4 percent, and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum round out the field with 2 percent each.

The Rasmussen poll comes on the heels of an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll released Wednesday that showed Cain leading Romney by four points, 27 percent to 23 percent. In that poll, Perry received 16 percent support, Paul had 11 percent, and Gingrich had 8.

Cain and Gingrich have risen in the polls as Perry has suffered a sharp decline after several poor debate performances. Perry's support has dropped by 19 points since the last Rasmussen poll released in September.

In the latest Rasmussen poll, Cain dominates among those who consider themselves members of the Tea Party. He garners 44 percent support from this group. Romney comes in a distant second with 19 percent, and Gingrich has 13 percent. Perry only attracts 7 percent support from this group, down from 33 percent in the last Rasmussen poll.

In a hypothetical head-to-head matchup, Cain lead Romney by one percent, 43 percent to 42 percent. In a matchup with Perry, Cain leads by a commanding 25-point margin, 54 percent to 29 percent. Romney leads Perry, 54 percent to 30 percent, in a head-to-head matchup.

Still, while Cain is at the top of the field with Romney, a majority of Republican voters (51 percent) say they expect the former Massachusetts governor to win the nomination. Only 17 percent say the same about Cain.

Rasmussen Reports surveyed 1,000 likely Republican primary voters on Oct. 12. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points. 

Kyle Adams can be reached at kadams@realclearpolitics.com.

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