Polling,  President 2012

President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Romney 21% Vs. Cain 21% Vs. Gingrich 12% Vs. Perry 11%

According to the latest Gallup Poll.

Herman Cain now ties Mitt Romney as the leader for the GOP presidential nomination in USA Today/Gallup polling on Republican preferences conducted Nov. 2-6. Each receives 21% support from Republicans nationwide. Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry follow, with 12% and 11% support, respectively.

Gallup’s previous measure of Republicans’ preferences, conducted Oct. 3-7, also showed Romney and Cain essentially tied, with Romney at 20% support and Cain at 18%. At that point, Perry was in second place with 15%, followed by Ron Paul at 8% and Gingrich at 7%.

Well, this poll was taken before today’s latest revelation about another woman accusing Cain of inappropriate behavior.

Note, the rise of Newt Gingrich in this poll. The former Speaker may very well become the alternative to Mitt Romney, but whether he can go toe to toe with Romney remains to be seen.

Republicans’ latest preferences for their party’s nomination highlight Romney’s inability to build on his support in recent months. Romney’s 21% preference score is now no better in the trial heat poll than it was in May, despite the rise and then fall in Republican support for Perry and Michelle Bachmann, the collapse in support for Gingrich earlier this year, and the latest controversy surrounding Cain.

Meanwhile, Gingrich has seen a modest renaissance of sorts in his positioning. He received as high as 12% support earlier in the year, but fell to as low as 4% of Republicans’ preferences, in Gallup’s August update. Now, he’s back to 12%, and essentially ties Perry for second place behind the two front-runners. Gallup’s Positive Intensity Scores, updated each Tuesday, also show that Gingrich’s image has been improving.