Fresh off of his straw poll victory in Florida last weekend, businessman and White House hopeful Herman Cain has surged to second place in the Sunshine State, according to a new SurveyUSA poll released Thursday.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney edges Cain, 27 percent to 25 percent, among likely Republican primary voters in Florida. Texas Gov. Rick Perry lands in third place with 15 percent of the support. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich attracts 6 percent, and U.S. Reps. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota and Ron Paul of Texas each garners 5 percent. Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman receives 3 percent, and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum gets 2 percent. Twelve percent remain undecided.
The most conservative voters are virtually split between Romney and Cain, though Cain holds a 27 percent to 26 percent edge. Romney leads among moderates, 34 percent to 19 percent. Cain fares better than his Republican rivals among Hispanic voters, attracting 22 percent of the support; Bachmann receives 18 percent support and Romney garners 16 percent from that group.
Romney has a high favorability rating in the state: 55 percent like him and 19 percent find him unfavorable. Perry also has a positive rating, with 36 percent finding him favorable and 28 percent finding him unfavorable. None of the remaining candidates were tested on favorability.
Former Alaska governor and 2008 vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin was not placed on this hypothetical ballot. However, 76 percent of GOP primary voters say she should stay out of the race while 16 percent would encourage her to jump in. A majority (51 percent) discourages New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie from entering the White House contest, while 25 percent say he should throw his hat into the ring.
The poll surveyed 500 likely Republican primary voters from Sept. 24-27 with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
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