Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul gained five points in the latest Quinnipiac University poll of likely voters in the New York Republican primary. Although the New York Republican primary is not scheduled to take place until April 24th, the Texas congressman has gained some ground in the Empire State. While Mr. Paul’s popularity is on the rise among New York Republicans, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has fallen to the bottom of the Republican pack.
When Quinnipiac University polled the Empire State in December, Mr. Paul had 9 percent of the votes and Mr. Gingrich had 29 percent of the votes. Two months later, Mr. Paul has 14 percent of the votes and Mr. Gingrich has 10 percent of the votes. While the fortunes of Mr. Paul and Mr. Gingrich appear to have reversed, the biggest gain among New York Republicans was made by former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum.
Although former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney leads Mr. Santorum with 32 percent of the votes, the Pennsylvania Republican has surged 17 percentage points to secure 20 percent of the votes in New York. Mr. Romney has also benefited from the demise of Mr. Gingrich’s campaign, adding 6 percentage points to his total is less than two months.
While Mr. Paul may be gaining ground in New York, President Barack Obama is a favorite among general election voters in the Empire State. Although Mr. Paul bested Mr. Gingrich in the New York poll, Quinnipiac University did not poll voters on a general election matchup between the Texas Republican and Mr. Obama.
“New York is blue. Voters give President Barack Obama only fair marks – on doing his job and whether he deserves to keep it – but he trounces the current Republican crop,” said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, in a press release. “New York Republicans don’t seem to be joining the ‘anyone-but-Romney’ dance.”
With the New York Republican primary still several months away, Mr. Paul is campaigning in Idaho and Washington this week.
