President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Romney 17% Vs. Palin 15%

Mitt Romney (17%) and Sarah Palin (15%) now lead a smaller field of potential Republican presidential candidates in rank-and-file Republicans’ preferences for the party’s 2012 nominee. Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich, and Herman Cain essentially tie for third, with Cain registering 8% support in his initial inclusion in Gallup “trial heat” polling. Notably, 22% of Republicans do not have a preference at this point.

Poll such as this must be scaring the GOP Establishment. Polling results with this field show a “weak” Mitt Romney who is the “Establishment” candidate, now that Huckabee and Daniels have decided not to run.

It is Interesting that Michele Bachmann who has given every indication that she WILL run is not polling better, especially since she is easily identified as a Tea Party candidate.

Again, this is a national poll, with the race starting in Iowa (where Michele Bachmann will run strong and Mitt Romney won’t) and with the uncertainty as to whether Sarah Palin will run, take the poll for what it is worth.

In the short term, Romney and Palin seem to have benefited most from several prominent potential Republican candidates’ decisions not to run for president. Should Palin follow suit and not enter the race, Romney would be the clear front-runner, but arguably the weakest front-runner in any recent Republican nomination campaign.

As such, the race remains wide open, which is underscored by the fact that one in five Republicans currently have no preference.