Mitt Romney’s lead in the Republican presidential primary race in Florida has evaporated, according to a Quinnipiac University Poll released Wednesday.
The former Massachusetts governor, who led by 12 percentage points in the Quinnipiac poll on Jan. 9, is now in a statistical dead heat with former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, with 36 percent of likely voters saying they prefer Romney and 34 percent going for Gingrich.
Perhaps more significantly, Gingrich leads 40-34 among those voters polled after his win in South Carolina.
“Gingrich’s South Carolina victory clearly gives him a boost in Florida,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
But Brown cautioned that former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum and Romney both saw their momentum slowed after wins in Iowa and New Hampshire, respectively.
Overall, pollsters surveyed 601 Republicans likely primary voters Jan. 19-23, giving the poll a margin of error of 4 percentage points.
Pollsters spoke to 254 voters before the South Carolina results, for a margin of error of 6.2 percentage points on that portion of the poll, and 347 after, for a margin of error of 5.3 percentage points for that segment.
Throughout the Clinton years, voters were repeatedly told that character should not matter, it is all about what someone accomplishes in office. I am greatly concerned that the South Carolina Republicans have bought into this mantra. South Carolina Republicans, many identifying themselves as evangelical Christians, just voted for a serial adulterer, who was driven out of office by the Conservative Republicans he claims to represent. GOP voters in Florida beware! We do not need a Republican Bill Clinton! We need someone who not only votes for family values but has family values.