A new Reason-Rupe Poll
of 1,200 adults on cell phones and landlines finds former House
Speaker Newt Gingrich to be the most favored candidate among
Republican and Republican-leaning voters to win the GOP
presidential nomination at 27 percent. However, his lead is narrow,
with Mitt Romney coming in at 25 percent. Next is Ron Paul at 7
percent, while 22 percent say they are still undecided.

If you were voting today in the 2012 Republican primary
for president, which one of the following candidates would you
favor?  (asked of Republicans and
Republican Leaners)

 

When these voters are split between Republican-leaners and
Republicans, the results flip. Among Republican-leaners, Mitt
Romney leads the pack with 28 percent, followed by Newt Gingrich at
19 percent, and Ron Paul at 10 percent. Among Republicans, Gingrich
leads at 30 percent, followed by Romney at 24 percent, and Ron Paul
at 6 percent. Among pure independents, defined as those who do not
lean toward either party, Ron Paul leads with 19 percent,
while Gingrich and Romney are tied at 9 percent.

If you were voting today in the 2012 Republican primary
for president, which one of the following candidates would you
favor? (asked of Republicans, Republican Leaners,
and Independents)

The poll also asked all Americans who would be their last choice
to become president out of the the aforementioned list of
Republican presidential candidates. Michele Bachmann won with 17
percent followed by Newt Gingrich at 12 percent.

Of this list of Republican presidential
candidates, who would be your last choice to become
president? (Asked of all
respondents)

 

 

Find full Reason-Rupe Q4 2011 poll results, question
wording, and methodology here. 

The Reason-Rupe Q4 2011
poll collected a nationally representative sample of 1200
respondents, aged 18 and older from all 50 states and the District
of Columbia using live telephone interviews from December 1-13.
Interviews were conducted on both landline and mobile phones. The
margin of sampling error for this poll is +/- 3 percent. Questions
on the GOP presidential primary were collected from December
3rd-13th, have a sample size of 1029, and a ± 5 percent margin of
error.

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