Poll: Newt soars in S.C., Fla., loses to Obama
12/11/11 9:41 AM EST
NBC/Marist polling – which last week showed Newt Gingrich with a solid lead in Iowa and closing on Mitt Romney in New Hampshire – now puts him way up in South Carolina and Florida:
In South Carolina, which holds its presidential contest on Jan. 21, Gingrich gets the support of 42 percent of likely primary voters, including those leaning toward a particular candidate. That’s a 35-point jump since October’s NBC-Marist poll of the Palmetto State contest.
Romney gets 23 percent (a five-point drop), and no other Republican candidate registers in double digits. …
In Florida, which holds its primary on Jan. 31, Gingrich is at 44 percent among likely voters -- a 38-point increase from October. He’s followed by Romney at 29 percent (a four-point decline), Paul at 8 percent and Perry at 4 percent.
Those results pretty much confirm the Time/CNN numbers released Wednesday, which had Gingrich had the favorite in every January primary and caucus state except New Hampshire.
The NBC/Marist polls also show some surprisingly good general election numbers for Obama, particularly against Gingrich:
In hypothetical match-ups, the president leads Romney by seven points [in Florida] (48 to 41 percent) and Gingrich by 12 points (51 to 39 percent).
In South Carolina -- a reliable Republican state in presidential contests -- Obama’s approval rating stands at 44 percent, and he holds narrow leads over Romney (45 to 42 percent) and Gingrich (46 to 42 percent).
Read more about: Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, 2012 Elections
http://www.politico.com/blogs/burns-haberman/2011/12/poll-newt-soars-in-sc-fla-loses-to-obama-106806.html
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