ELECTION 2012
Bachmann surges far ahead of Republican contenders
Candidate races to 19-point lead over next closest GOP hopeful
Posted: July 05, 2011
6:10 pm Eastern
By Joe Kovacs
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is surging far ahead of her Republican rivals in the race for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, according to a new Zogby poll.
The U.S. representative from Minnesota, who led among announced candidates in a June 21 poll, has now added 10 percentage points to her previous mark, and now stands at 34 percent.
That's a 19-point lead over second place Herman Cain, who stayed the same at 15 percent support.
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Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney came in third place, but dropped a point to 14 percent, and U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas dropped two percentage points to 11 percent, coming in fourth place.
They were followed by Rick Santorum at 7 percent, Tim Pawlenty and Jon Huntsman at 4 percent, and Newt Gingrich at 2 percent.
While Bachmann's support is growing, she could face trouble if some other well-known names jump into the race.
Zogby also asked for whom would Republicans vote in a primary if Texas Gov. Rick Perry, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin were candidates.
In that hypothetical scenario, Perry finished first with 18 percent, Christie second with 17 percent, Bachmann third at 15 percent, Paul fourth at 10 percent, Palin fifth at 9 percent, and Cain and Romney tied for sixth with 8 percent each.
Four Republicans (Christie, Romney, Bachmann and Pawlenty) were each in a statistical tie with President Obama when matched up against him. All other GOP contenders trail Obama.
Zogby also asked for which candidates would you never vote, and Gingrich topped the list at 46 percent, followed by Huntsman at 43 percent and Paul at 38 percent, as voters could opt for more than one choice.
The poll also asked, "Regardless of whom you intend to vote for, who do you think will get the nomination?"
Romney led the pack at 37 percent, followed by Perry at 17 percent and Bachmann at 10 percent.
The online survey of 1,042 likely Republican primary voters was taken June 28-30, and has a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points.
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