Political Reporter Jack Fink: Poll Numbers Vary Before FL GOP Debate
The following is commentary from CBS 11's political reporter Jack Fink:
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – Tonight, the Republicans vying for the Florida primary will debate for the last time before Tuesday's contest.
Already, we've seen Monday's debate have an impact on the race.
Mitt Romney went on the attack against Newt Gingrich, reminding people he resigned as the Speaker of the House following an ethics violation, and accusing Gingrich of influence peddling.
Romney did so after nearly all polls showed Gingrich had surged ahead of the former Massachusetts Governor by at least three points.
Gingrich scored a big win in South Carolina's primary last Saturday.
Gingrich though defended himself during Monday's debate, but did not go after Romney.
Instead, he tried to remain above the fray.
Now, there's evidence Gingrich was hurt after Monday's debate.
Three polls now show Romney has re-taken the lead over Gingrich.
Rasmussen's new poll out today shows Romney back ahead of Gingrich by eight points, 39 to 31-percent. Rick Santorum has 12-percent and Ron Paul has 9-percent.
The Insider Advantage poll from Wednesday also shows Romney with an eight point lead, 40-32 percent over Gingrich.
Paul has 9-percent, and Santorum has seen his support plummet to 8-percent.
A poll by CNN/Time finds a tighter race, with Romney at 36, Gingrich 34, Santorum 11, and Paul with 9 percent.
A Florida Chamber of Commerce poll shows Romney and Gingrich are tied at 33-percent.
Santorum has 10-percent, Paul 6-percent.
So during tonight's debate, Romney and Gingrich may take each other on more fiercely.
Gingrich reportedly made a political misstep.
The Washington Post reports that one of Florida's most popular politicians, Senator Marco Rubio, who's a favorite with Tea Party members, defended Romney this week.
Rubio, who many supporters and analysts consider a potential running mate to the nominee, has said he would remain neutral in the primary.
But after Gingrich compared Romney to former Republican Governor Charlie Crist, Rubio issued a statement saying Romney is not Crist, but in fact a conservative, and one of the first to endorse Rubio when he ran for the Senate against Crist.
There's a sign that all of the back and forth between Romney and Gingrich is hurting both of them, especially Romney.
An ABC News-Washington Post poll shows Romney's unfavorable ratings are rising.
Fifty-one percent of independents and 32-percent of Republicans have an unfavorable rating of Romney up from 34-percent and 18-percent respectively from earlier this month.
As for Gingrich, his overall unfavorable rating is 51-percent.
The last thing Republicans want to see is that President Obama's personal ratings have improved: 53-percent favorable, 43-percent unfavorable.
A lot is at stake in Florida where the winner will take all of the delegates.
Some analysts are already speculating Romney and Gingrich may take their battle all the way to their party's convention in Tampa this August.
It's too early to make that prediction.
