Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee are the top choices among 10 Republicans who've expressed interest in seeking the party's presidential nomination in 2012, according to a new poll.
A Harris poll released today finds that Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, tying with Huckabee, the ex-Arkansas governor, among all voters surveyed by the poll. Each received 23 percent when totaling responses from Republican, Democratic and independent respondents.—-
The pair were followed by ex-Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and ex-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, each of whom got 21 percent.
They were followed by Newt Gingrich (13 percent), Tim Pawlenty (9 percent), Michele Bachmann (6 percent), Rick Santorum (5 percent), Haley Barbour (5 percent) and Mitch Daniels (4 percent).
Perhaps reflecting how early in the presidential race it is, the top choice among all voters surveyed was “not sure,” which got 43 percent.
But when Republican respondents were singled out, the choices changed slightly.
Huckabee had the edge and was ranked first, with 39 percent; followed by Romney, with 35 percent. Palin was third, with 31 percent; and Giuliani was forth, with 25 percent.
Counting GOP answers only, here's how the rest of the pack fared: Gingrich (23 percent); Pawlenty (15 percent); Bachmann (10 percent); Santorum (10 percent); Barbour (5 percent); and Daniels (4 percent). Twenty-five percent said they were “not sure.”
Huckabee was the top choice of “conservative” respondents (36 percent), while “moderate independents” favored Giuliani (27 percent).
Among Democratic respondents, Palin and Giuliani tied for first, each receiving 17 percent.
The poll surveyed 2,566 adults online between Jan. 17-24. Harris gives a detailed explanation on its Web site about why it doesn't include a margin of error for its polling.