Poll: Cain & Romney Tied In Fla.
MIAMI (CBSMiami.com) – The 2012 Presidential general election is still more than a year away, but on the heels of hotly contested debate Tuesday night, a new poll from NBC/Marist is showing Floridians are cool on all GOP candidates except Mitt Romney and Herman Cain.
According to the poll, 49 percent of Floridians disapprove of President Barack Obama's job performance, compared to 41 percent who approve. Another 10 percent in the poll were not sure, meaning it can still swing wildly as the months go by.
In the poll, hypothetical matchups of President Obama and the three GOP frontrunner, Romney, Cain, and Perry were given to voters. Obama led Romney by 2 percent, inside the margin of error; led Perry by 8 percent, and led Cain by 6 percent.
But, out of the likely Republican voters, if the primary were held today it would be basically a two-man in Florida between Cain and Romney. The two Republican candidates are separated by just one percent, 30-29, meaning they are in a statistical tie.
The next closest Republican to the top two was Rick Perry, who polled in the single digits.
For Cain, it's been quite a ride to the top powered by one strategic victory. Cain, the former Godfathers Pizza CEO, won Florida's straw poll last month and ever since then has ascended to the top of the class in the GOP field.
Despite reservations held by the Republican establishment about several of the candidates being unelectable; 60 percent of Floridians are satisfied with the candidates they have to choose from, according to the poll.
Deeper in the poll results, a 72 percent majority of likely Republican voters said they would not describe themselves as a fundamentalist or evangelical Christian. Plus, 58 percent of likely voters said they consider a Mormon to be a Christian.
Finally, out of the likely Republican voters, 53 percent were not college graduates while 47 percent had finished college.
- Click here to read the full poll results.
