Polls

A spate of recent polls show Newt Gingrich pulling away from his Republican opponents in Florida, but the former House Speaker opened up his biggest lead to date in an American Research Group poll released Thursday.

Herman Cain's support in Iowa — the nation's first nominating contest — has cratered to a new low, according to a poll released Friday by the Des Moines Register.

Cain's support — which had stood at a campaign-leading 23 percent in late October — has fallen to just 8 percent of likely caucus-goers, according to the poll, released Friday.

The poll also asked respondents which Republican candidate they believed was most likely to have a scandal if he or she were to win the White House. According to the paper, Cain's numbers rose from 25 percent of respondents at the start of the polling cycle — Sunday — to 47 percent at the end — Wednesday — which covered the period during which an Atlanta businesswoman came forward with allegations of an extramarital affair.

A second poll released on Wednesday shows Newt Gingrich with a big lead over the rest of the Republican presidential field in Florida, this time leading Mitt Romney by 30 points.

Newt Gingrich stands to benefit if Herman Cain were to withdraw or lose support in the Republican presidential race, according to a Public Policy Poll released on Tuesday.

Gingrich has a much better favorability rating with Cain supporters than does Mitt Romney. Seventy-three percent of Cain supporters view Gingrich favorably, while only 33 percent have a favorable view of Romney.

Gingrich is also the consensus second choice among Cain voters, with 37 percent saying Gingrich would be their back-up to Cain, compared to 14 percent for Michele Bachmann, 13 percent for Romney, and 12 percent for Rick Perry.

On Tuesday, Cain told supporters he was “reassessing” his campaign in light of the latest allegation against him, this one from an Atlanta businesswoman who says she had a 13-year-long affair with the candidate.

The former Godfather’s Pizza CEO said he was worried that the new allegation, which follows previous allegations of sexual harassment, would cause “too much of a cloud” over his campaign, but said he would continue as long as his wife and family supported his efforts.

The poll gave the GOP presidential candidate his best showing so far with the early-primary state’s likely Republican voters.

The Newt Gingrich surge has accelerated since the former House Speaker landed the New Hampshire Union Leader Republican presidential endorsement over the weekend, as three polls taken Monday night now show Gingrich in the lead or within the margin of error in key early-voting states.

According to an Iowa Insider Advantage poll conducted on behalf of conservative news website Newsmax, Gingrich pulled in 28 percent of support from those polled — more than double the next closest candidate. Ron Paul came in second with 13 percent, followed by Mitt Romney with 11.5 percent, Michele Bachmann with 10.1 percent, Herman Cain with 9.8 percent, Rick Perry with 6.6 percent and Rick Santorum with 3.3 percent. Jon Huntsman was not included in the poll.

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The president's job approval rating held steady at 43 percent for the fifth straight week, but 49 percent still disapprove.

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) is ahead of all of his GOP rivals and gaining ground among Nebraska voters, according to a poll released Monday by Nelson's campaign.

In a general-election matchup, Nelson is 2 points ahead of Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning — within the margin of error — and beats Don Stenberg by 5 points and Deb Fischer by 13 points, the survey by Democratic pollster Harrison Hickman showed. When Hickman polled in June, Bruning was 5 points ahead of Nelson; in February; Bruning had a 9-point head start.

The poll stands in stark contrast to another poll released Monday by Republican firm Magellan Strategies. That poll showed Bruning 6 points ahead of Nelson; the Democratic incumbent was tied or ahead of the other two Republican primary candidates. Democrats alleged that the Republican poll oversampled GOP voters and gave too little weight to independents.

More notable was the fact that Nelson is commissioning polling for his reelection. The two-term senator has not yet announced whether he will seek reelection.

Although Nelson faces a difficult reelection if he chooses to run, Democrats are eagerly hoping he tries for a third term, because their chances at holding the seat with another candidate are even slimmer.

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) would start his 2012 reelection race in a weak position if Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning wins the primary, according to a new poll.

The survey by Republican firm Magellan Strategies put Nelson 6 points behind Bruning in a general election. But pitted against Don Stenberg, another Republican in the race, Nelson is in a statistical tie. He bests Nebraska state Sen. Deb Fischer (R) by 6 points.

Another cause for concern for Nelson, who has not yet announced whether he will seek reelection, is his 36 percent approval rating, which dwarfs the 51 percent who disapprove. All of the Republican candidates — except Bruning — also have more voters who disapprove than approve.

But the Republicans all have higher rates of voters who haven't yet made up their minds than Nelson, who is finishing up his second term in the Senate.

Nelson won his 2006 reelection by almost 30 points over Republican Pete Ricketts, but his 2012 fate is less certain, and Republicans see a major opportunity to unseat him.

The Magellan poll of 645 Nebraska voters was conducted Nov. 20-21 using automated telephone interviews, and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.

Newt Gingrich has opened a sizable lead over Mitt Romney in the first national poll in the GOP presidential race taken since the former Speaker of the House earned the key endorsement of the New Hampshire Union Leader, showing Gingrich with a nine-percentage point lead over the former Massachusetts governor.

The poll, conducted by Majority Opinion Research Sunday night, showed Gingrich leading the Republican field with 32 percent of support from those surveyed. Romney earned 23 percent, while Herman Cain rounded out the top three with 14 percent of the vote. Ron Paul led the remainder of the field with 6 percent.

Gingrich's lead has opened up as the former Speaker has rallied both older voters and independents. Thirty-nine percent of those 65 and older support Gingrich, versus 28 percent for Romney, while those in the 45-64 age range back the Speaker by a 37-19 percent margin. Those figures would tend to support the emerging theme that conservatives are rallying behind Gingrich as their preferred alternative. Gingrich and Romney are virtually tied among voters 18-44, who are more likely to hold liberal views.