Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX), a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, is a top-tier candidate in New Jersey. According to the latest Quinnipiac poll of likely voters in the New Jersey Republican Presidential Primary, Mr. Paul sits in second along with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum.
Mr. Paul pulled in 12 percent of the votes, while Mr. Gingrich and Mr. Santorum garnered 14 percent of the votes each. However, taking into consideration the margin of error, the battle for second place is still undecided. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney easily won the New Jersey poll with 40 percent of the votes. Governor Rick Perry (R-TX) earned 2 percent of the votes to be defeated by ex-Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman.
Mr. Paul’s numbers in the Garden State have improved dramatically since November. Two months ago, Mr. Paul was bested by pizza baron Herman Cain, Mr. Gingrich and Mr. Romney by 6 points or more. Two months later, Mr. Paul has surged 6 percentage points in New Jersey and is now a serious contender for second place.
The New Jersey Republican primary will not be conducted until June 5th. With numerous key races in the mix before the New Jersey Republican primary, it is extremely likely that the race for the Republican presidential nomination will have been whittled down to a two-man race before June. Furthermore, the results of the South Carolina Republican primary as well as those of other key states will influence future polls out of the Garden State.
Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,460 registered voters, including 464 Republicans from January 10th through January 16th. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.6 percentage points among Republicans.
