Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney clobbered former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in a EPIC-MRA poll of likely voters in the Michigan Republican primary. Mr. Romney, a Michigan native, garnered 31 percent of the votes. Mr. Gingrich pulled in 26 percent of the votes.
In a hypothetical general election, President Barack Obama has an excellent chance of beating both Republican front-runners in November. Mr. Obama would defeat Mr. Gingrich by 13 percentage points (51-38) and Mr. Romney by 8 percentage points (48-40).
Although Mr. Obama barely beat Mr. Romney among male voters (45-43), the former Illinois senator bested the Bain Capital co-founder by 11 points among female voters. Mr. Obama is even more popular among male and female voters in a hypothetical general election with Mr. Gingrich.
Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, a congressman from Texas, is also a top-tier candidate in Michigan. Mr. Paul bested former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum by4 percentage points in the Michigan poll.
Although the Michigan Republican primary is not set to take place until February 28th, Mr. Romney and Mr. Gingrich are locked in a two-man race for the Republican presidential nomination. Mr. Romney leads the latest polls of likely voters in the Florida Republican primary, but Mr. Gingrich’s victory in the South Carolina Republican primary cemented his status as the Bain Capital co-founder’s biggest competitor for the Republican presidential nomination.
The EPIC-MRA poll of 600 likely Michigan voters was conducted from January 21st through January 25th. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. Among Republican voters, the poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 6 percentage points.
