Romney leads in early voting states: poll
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Xinhua, October 27, 2011
Former U.S. Massachusetts State Governor Mitt Romney is on the top for the lead in the race for the Republican presidential nomination in the first four states to vote in next year's primary and caucus calendar, according to new survey results released on Wednesday.
According to CNN/Time/ORC International polls released on Wednesday, Romney continues to be the overwhelming front-runner in New Hampshire, holds a lead over the other GOP presidential candidates in Florida, and has a marginal lead over businessman Herman Cain in Iowa and South Carolina.
In Iowa, which will hold its caucuses on January 3 and is traditionally the first state to vote in the race for the nomination, 24 percent of registered Republicans say they are backing Romney, who's making his second bid for the presidency, while Cain's support is at 21 percent.
The New Hampshire survey indicates that Romney remains the overwhelming favorite with a support number of 40 percent, while Cain's stood at 13 percent. The state is to hold the first-in-the- nation primary and traditionally votes second after Iowa. Romney is well known in New Hampshire. He was governor of neighboring Massachusetts. The state's primary date has yet to be announced but is expected to fall on January 10th.
In South Carolina, which will hold its primary on Jan. 21 and traditionally is the first southern state to vote. Romney has the support of 25 percent of self-identified Republicans or independents who lean towards the GOP, with Cain at 23 percent.
Florida will hold its primary on January 31, voting fourth in the primary and caucus calendar. According to the poll, three out of ten Republicans say they back Romney, with Cain at 18 percent.
But the surveys indicate that many Republican voters are still far from decided. Only about a third of the respondents in any state say their minds are made up, and that number drops to just 23 percent in Iowa. Meanwhile, in New Hampshire and Florida one in seven voters are still assessing the field and don't favor any candidate yet.
