More registered voters say they would definitely vote for Mitt Romney or might consider doing so (62%) than say the same about his two main rivals in the 2012 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama (54%) and Republican Rick Perry (53%).
...Romney's advantage in broader voter consideration over Perry and Obama results partly from his greater appeal to independent voters -- 70% say they would definitely vote for him or consider doing so, compared with 60% for Perry and 45% for Obama. Romney also receives greater consideration from Republican and Democratic voters than does Perry, and matches the 90% party loyalty Obama gets from his party's supporters.
The greater consideration Romney gets among registered voters speaks to his potential in the 2012 election, something that has not necessarily been translated to performance yet. Romney is essentially tied with Obama in the latest head-to-head matchup for the general election, and currently trails Perry in Republicans' current preferences for the party's presidential nominee. However, the same poll finds Republicans saying they are more willing to trade agreement on the issues for electability when choosing their party's presidential nominee, something that could work to Romney's advantage given that he currently fares slightly better than Perry in a head-to-head matchup versus Obama.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry may be the leader in national polls in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, but a new survey indicates that in New Hampshire, Mitt Romney's still way ahead of the rest of the pack.
According to a Suffolk University/7 News poll released Wednesday night, 41 percent of likely New Hampshire GOP primary voters say they support Romney. The survey indicates that Romney, the former governor of neighboring Massachusetts who's making his second bid for president, has a 27 point lead over his nearest competitor in the state that holds the first primary in the race for the White House.
In second place at 14 percent is Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, who's making his third bid for the presidency, followed by former Utah Gov. and former U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman at 10 percent.
