Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, an official candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, won a Nevada GOP poll with 31 percent of the vote. The Public Policy Polling poll, released on August 4th, is just one of many polls that Romney has won in the last several months. Widely considered the frontrunner for the GOP presidential nomination, Romney also has a 63 percent favorability rating among those surveyed by the polling organization.
However, Romney’s frontrunner status could still be challenged as the entrance of Texas Governor Rick Perry could throw the race for the Republican presidential nomination wide open. Perry, who has yet to declare his candidacy, is rumored to be preparing to launch a presidential campaign within the next several months.
Perry is even acting like a GOP candidate, despite his absence from the circle of official candidates. On Friday, July 29th, Perry addressed a crowd in Colorado at the Western Conservative Summit and said, “the mix of arrogance and audacity that guides the Obama administration is an affront to every freedom-loving American and a threat to just about every private sector job.”
If Perry has any doubts in his mind as to whether he should run for the GOP nomination he can mull over the results of several recent polls. A Pew Research Center poll of announced and unannounced candidates, conducted between July 20th and July 24th, gave the Texas Governor a second place finish with 12 percent support from Republican and Republican-leaning voters. Romney finished in first place with 21 percent of the vote. However, when the same poll surveyed Tea Party supporters, Romney and Perry tied for first place.
In another indication of the growing support for Perry, the Texas Governor grabbed a second place finish in a Gallup poll of announced and unannounced candidates conducted between July 20th and July 24th. Perry was only two percentage points behind Romney who took first place in the poll with 17 percent of the vote from Republicans and Republican-leaning independents.
While Romney won the recently-released Public Policy Polling poll with 31 percent of the vote, Perry grabbed 18 percent of the vote in his first Nevada GOP poll. Romney and Perry beat out Sarah Palin and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), who each grabbed 10 percent of the vote. Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) came in fourth with 9 percent of the vote and Herman Cain grabbed a fifth place finish with 7 percent of the vote.
While Romney is currently the frontrunner to win the GOP presidential nomination, Perry’s strong second place finishes in several recent polls are a sign that the competition is far from over as the nation’s presidential primaries and caucuses grow closer.
