Poll: Ron Paul ties Newt Gingrich for third nationally – The State Column
Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) has tied former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in an Associated Press/GfK poll of Republicans and leaned Republicans. The Associated Press/GfK poll, which was released Wednesday, found Mr. Paul and Mr. Gingrich tied with 15 percent of the votes each. Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum bested former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney by 1 percentage point nationally (33 to 32).
When the Associated Press/GfK conducted a national level poll at the beginning of December, the Republican race looked completely different. Mr. Santorum had only 3 percent of the votes and Mr. Romney was in second place with 27 percent of the votes. Mr. Gingrich was the front-runner with 33 percent of the votes and Mr. Paul was tied with Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) for third place nationally with 9 percent of the votes each.
Two months later, the fortunes of Mr. Santorum, Mr. Romney and Mr. Paul have risen while Mr. Gingrich’s star has plummeted. The Pennsylvania Republican has surged 30 percentage points and the Texas Republican has moved up 6 percentage points. The Georgia Republican has fallen 18 percentage points and the Bain Capital co-founder has gained 5 percentage points.
With less than two weeks to go before Super Tuesday, Mr. Paul and Mr. Gingrich are campaigning at a fever pitch in order to convince undecided voters. CNN’s Republican presidential debate, scheduled to take place on Wednesday night, will be a key opportunity for the Republican candidates to impress voters on a national stage before the Michigan and Arizona Republican primaries.
With time running out, the ability for Mr. Paul and Mr. Gingrich to sustain their campaign comes into question. Despite trailing nationally, Mr. Paul has the fundraising base to continue his campaign until the Republican convention in August. In fact, the Texas congressman hauled in more than $2 million during his “No One But Paul” money bomb.
Mr. Gingrich, who is considered a strong debater, may have one last chance to impress voters at the CNN debate. “If Newt Gingrich scores big tomorrow night he could come back,” wrote Bill O’Reilly, host of Fox News’ “The O’Reilly Factor,” Tuesday.
GfK Roper Public Affairs & Corporate Communications conducted the national level poll of 1,000 Americans (ages 18+) from February 16th through February 20th. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.
