Fla poll: Romney 28%, Cain 24, Gingrich 10, Perry 9

[RandySF]

Debates matter. So did Florida’s straw poll. Just ask two guys: Herman Cain and Rick Perry.

Cain is now running in second place in Florida now that his support surged nearly 19 percentage points after last month’s Republican Party of Florida’s Presidency 5 debate and straw poll, according to a survey of likely Florida voters conducted by Gainesville-based War Room Logistics, which typically polls for Republicans.

Meantime, Perry’s support plummeted nearly 16 percentage points.

Perry had been tied as a Florida frontrunner with Mitt Romney at about 25 percent on Sept. 20, dropped to third/fourth place with 9 percent of the vote where he’s statistically tied with Newt Gingrich (10 percent).

Romney’s support grew a modest 3 percentage points, to 28 percent.

Romney also remains the best general-election candidate against President Obama, according to the poll. Romney trails him 42-48 – the smallest margin. Against all the other Republican candidates, Obama cracks the magic 50 percent threshold.

http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/content/fla-poll-romney-28-cain-24-gingrich-10-perry-9

[customerserviceguy]

1. Man, the Repukes are really cutting and running from Perry

I know a straw poll can be heavily manipulated, but I'd bet this poll is just a bit more scientific.

Of course, such polls showed The Donald to be the GOP front runner just six months ago.

[Kennah]

2. I'm split on Romney

On the one hand, he's probably got the best chance of beating Obama so I really don't want him to win the Primary.

However, if Romney gets the nomination, a lot of Teabaggers will stay home so a lot of their folks in Congress will suffer. Also, Romney probably has the best chance of producing a Third Party Teabagger candidate to siphon off GOP votes.