Romney's Florida Lead Widens In New Marist Poll
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - GOP Presidential candidate Mitt Romney is widening his lead over Newt Gingrich just 2 days before the winner-take-all GOP primary, according to a new poll released Sunday morning.
The Marist College/NBC poll shows Romney with a 15-point lead over Gingrich, with 42% of likely voters supporting him as opposed to 27% for Gingrich.
Sunday's poll tracks other polls released over the weekend, including a Miami Herald/Tampa Times/Bay News 9 poll that show Romney's lead widening, a major change from just 5 days ago when some polls had the two men in a statistical dead heat.
The apparent surge for Romney comes even after super-PAC money poured into the state, purchasing attack advertising for Gingrich in major media markets like Miami.
Rick Santorum, who left the state Saturday to do his taxes and attend fundraisers in his home state of Pennsylvania, trailed far behind Gingrich with just 16 percent of those taking part in the poll supporting him.
Ron Paul, who did not campaign in Florida and who has had no political ads on the air, polled 4th with 11%.
