In Iowa, Romney Tops List for Second Choice Support
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is leading in Iowa and he is also getting a bit more second choice support than other candidates.
Data released yesterday shows that Romney currently is on top in Iowa with 25% support followed by Texas Congressman Ron Paul at 20% and Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at 17%. When asked in the same survey about their second choice, 16% pick Romney, 14% name Gingrich, 14% offer former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, and 13% say Texas Governor Rick Perry. Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is the second choice for 10%, Ron Paul for nine percent (9%) and Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman for four percent (4%). (To see survey question wording, click here.)
In Iowa, just 47% of caucus goers say they have made up their mind and are certain of how they will vote. Forty-five percent (45%) could still change their mind and the rest haven’t yet settled on a first preference. Among the smaller group of likely caucus-goers who could still change their mind, Romney is the top choice for 19%, Gingrich for 18% and Perry for 16%. In this group, 12% see Santorum as their second choice, 12% Paul, 10% Bachmann and three percent (3%) Huntsman.
Among Gingrich supporters who might change their mind, 40% name Romney as the second choice and no other candidate reaches half that total. Data released yesterday shows that Romney is now seen as a stronger general election candidate than Gingrich. A week ago, the two were tied in that category.
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This Iowa survey of 750 Likely Republican Caucus Participants was conducted on December 19, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
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