CNN Poll: Romney Holds Slim Lead In Fla.
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – After getting thumped in South Carolina, many expected Newt Gingrich to ride the momentum to a win in the Sunshine State. But the third poll released Wednesday showed Gingrich still has a long road ahead to take Florida.
According to the latest TIME/CNN GOP poll, Romney currently leads Gingrich in the state of Florida by two percent, 36 -34. Rick Santorum came in third with 11 percent while Congressman Ron Paul came in last with just nine percent.
The poll's margin of error was +/- percentage points, meaning the race between Gingrich and Romney is a statistical dead heat.
All of the polling released Wednesday has shown Romney with a slight edge over Gingrich in Florida. With 50 delegates at stake in the winner-take-all primary, Florida holds the key for the winner of the state to take a commanding lead in the race for the GOP nomination.
Romney and the related Super PAC's that support him have been blanketing the local airwaves with countless attack ads against Gingrich. The ad frequency picked up after Romney was easily beaten by Gingrich in South Carolina.
Roughly 25 percent of those surveyed said they still may change their mind on who they will eventually vote for in Tuesday's primary, but 64 percent said their minds were made up.
Breaking down the numbers further, Gingrich had more support from the northern and central parts of Florida, while Romney was getting more support south of Tampa.
Gingrich held a slight edge amongst male voters, but Romney dominated women voters and white voters.
