The latest Rasmussen poll finds Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, leading former House Speaker Newt Gingrich by a wide margin.
The poll, released Thursday, finds Mr. Romney leading the Georgia Republican by nine percentage points — his largest lead to date since the South Carolina primary.
The survey of likely Florida Republican primary voters, taken Wednesday night, shows Mr. Romney with 39 percent support to Mr. Gingrich’s 31 percent. Former Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Rick Santorum earns 12 percent, and Texas Republican Congressman Ron Paul runs last with nine percent. Four percent of voters say they prefer some other candidate, and seven percent 7% remain undecided.
Nationally, Mr. Gingrich leads the presidential pack among likely Republican primary voters with 35%. After that, it’s Romney 28 percent, Santorum 16 percent and Paul 10 percent.
The poll is the latest to show Mr. Romney and Mr. Gingrich engaged in a tight race for the Republican presidential nomination. A series of polls released earlier this week finds Mr. Gingrich and Mr. Romney in a neck and neck race that could ultimately decide which candidate becomes the Republican presidential candidate.
