A newly released NBC/Marist poll finds Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, leading Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, by 15 percentage points in the state of Florida.
Mr. Romney leads Mr. Gingrich by 15 points, 42 percent to 27 percent just days ahead of the Florida primary. Rick Santorum, the former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, is third with 16 percent, trailed by Texas Republican Congressman Ron Paul with 11 percent. Just 4 percent said they were undecided.
The poll results represents the widest margin of victory for Mr. Romney. Polls released earlier this week showed the Massachusetts Republican trailing Mr. Gingrich by a wide margin.
The poll also reflects the results from a Mason-Dixon Polling & Research poll released on Saturday that shows Mr. Romney leading Mr. Gingrich by 42 percent to 31 percent in Florida. The poll of 500 likely Republican primary voters had a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points. It was sponsored by the Tampa Bay Times, Miami Herald and Bay News 9.
The poll comes as Mr. Gingrich and Mr. Romney remain engaged in a tight race in Florida. The Republican duo have increased their criticism of one another, vying for votes in a state that could ultimately decide which candidate will secure the Republican presidential nomination.
A victory in Florida would likely restore Mr. Romney’s status as the Republican front-runner. The Massachusetts Republican faced questions following a defeat earlier this month in the South Carolina primary, allowing Mr. Gingrich to capture support from a wide base of anti-Romney voters.
“The bottom line in all this is Romney’s sitting in the driver’s seat going into Tuesday,” said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion at Marist College, who conducted the poll.
For Mr. Gingrich the race is seen as a key indicator as to whether he can continue to wage a long-term contest against Mr. Romney. The Georgia Republican, who secured the endorsement of his Republican opponent Herman Cain on Saturday, said Sunday that a strong finish in Florida could propel his campaign through March’s super Tuesday contest.
“We’re like Apple as compared to Microsoft,” said Mr. Gingrich of his and Mr. Romney’s campaign. “We’re very agile, we’re very organic, we’re very innovative,” Gingrich said. “And every once in a while we fray at the edges.”
