President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Newt Gingrich Surges to the Lead as Romney Sinks

Newt Gingrich’s most recent Positive Intensity Score of 20 in Gallup tracking conducted Nov. 14-27 is the highest of any Republican candidate, while Mitt Romney’s current score of 9 is his lowest of the year by one percentage point.

Gingrich and Romney are essentially tied as the front-runners on Gallup’s latest trial-heat ballot measure, but their Positive Intensity Scores this year have followed substantially different patterns.

Romney’s highest Positive Intensity Score this year is 20, measured in March, but he has been at or below 16 since late July. Romney’s score of 9 for the two-week period of Nov. 14-27 is his lowest of the year.

The trajectory of Gingrich’s Positive Intensity Score has shown a substantial drop and then an equally substantial rise over the course of the year. Gingrich’s score was 19 in March, but by summer it had plummeted to 1. The former speaker’s score then began an upward track, and has now reached 20 for two weeks in a row. This is Gingrich’s highest score of the year, is currently higher than the score of any other candidate by an 11-point margin, and leaves Gingrich as the only candidate with a double-digit score.

There is NO doubt that Newt Gingrich has peaked at the right time with the first Presidential Caucuses just about a month away. But, Gingrich has NO campaign cash and organization to match that of wealthy and long time Presidential candidate Romney.

Will Newt’s new found popularity and performance in the debates be enough to beat Mitt Romney?

I guess we will see. But, this Gallup Poll and some other polls this morning must be encouraging.