The Quinnipiac University poll of likely Florida Republican primary voters released Friday shows former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has increased his lead over rival candidate Newt Gingrich this week.
Mr. Romney finished the poll garnering 38 percent of the votes, with Mr. Gingrich trailing at 29 percent. In the Quinnipiac poll released on Wednesday, the former Massachusetts governor was only leading Mr. Gingrich by 2 percentage points.
That is likely an indication that Mr. Romney’s performance in the two debates this week and a large number of establishment Republicans attacking Mr. Gingrich this week has swayed more Florida voters towards Mr. Romney.
On Thursday Drudge Report, National Review, American Spectator and popular conservative commentator Ann Coulter all published articles blasting Mr. Gingrich for his political history. Mr. Romney also released an open letter from former Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole slamming the former House speaker on Thursday.
Texas congressman Ron Paul finished the poll in a distant third place, as he garnered 14 percent of the votes. Mr. Paul is trailed closely in fourth place by former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum.
Additionally, according to the poll results, more Florida voters have a favorable view of Mr. Romney than any of the other candidates. A total of 61 percent of the respondents state that they have a “favorable view” of Mr. Romney, compared to 50 percent for Mr. Gingrich.
What is surprising about the results though is that nearly double the amount of voters who identify themselves as Tea Party Republicans select Mr. Romney over Mr. Gingrich. The former House speaker’s major support base in South Carolina were Tea Party Republicans.
The Bain Capital co-founder also does better than Mr. Gingrich among Florida voters with college degrees and higher annual household incomes.
“Speaker Newt Gingrich’s momentum from his South Carolina victory appears to have stalled and Gov. Mitt Romney seems to be pulling away in Florida,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, in a press release Friday.
Mr. Romney and the pro Romney Super PAC Restore Our Future have been running negative attack ads against Mr. Gingrich in Florida since December.
The former House speaker had some momentum going into Florida following his victory in South Carolina, however Mr. Romney has seemingly halted that momentum this week. The former Massachusetts governor has focused on Mr. Gingrich’s past relationship with mortgage giant Freddie Mac, which is credited for being responsible for the record number of foreclosures in Florida in recent years.
“Romney also has a better favorability rating from likely primary voters, which supports his lead in the horse race. Of course, with four days before Election Day, there is time for another reversal. Three in 10 voters say they might change their mind,” said Mr. Brown.
There are no more debates leading up to the Florida Republican primary election, so Mr. Gingrich will have to find another way to close Mr. Romney’s growing lead over him in Florida.
The Quinnipiac poll was conducted between January 24th and January 26th among 580 likely Florida Republican primary voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.
