Gingrich cuts into Romney's New Hampshire lead
WASHINGTON | Tue Nov 29, 2011 5:04pm EST
reuters.com
(Reuters) - Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich is within 10 points of rival Mitt Romney in New Hampshire, according to a poll taken after the former House speaker was endorsed by the state's largest newspaper.
The Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of 762 likely Republican primary election voters was the first since Gingrich won the New Hampshire Union Leader's backing.
The poll showed 34 percent support for Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, and 24 percent for Gingrich.
Next was Representative Ron Paul at 14 percent and former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman at 11 percent. The poll was a high-water mark for Huntsman, who has staked his presidential bid on a strong showing in New Hampshire, which holds its first-in-the-nation primary election on January 10.
The previous Rasmussen survey, taken on October 25, had Romney with 41 percent support - 23 points ahead of Herman Cain, his closest challenger at the time. Gingrich was in fourth place in October, with 11 percent support.
Cain, a former pizza company executive hit by allegations of sexual harassment and an alleged 13-year extramarital affair, fell to 5 percent in the latest Rasmussen survey.
Monday's poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
The Union Leader, a conservative paper, praised Gingrich on Sunday for "innovative, forward-looking strategy and positive leadership."
(Reporting by Ros Krasny; Editing by John O'Callaghan) |
