Politics

POLL: Trump tied for first, Romney drops to fifth

Steven Nelson Associate Editor
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Businessman Donald Trump is tied with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee for first place among possible Republican presidential candidates, according to a CNN/Opinion Research poll released Tuesday.

The poll asked 385 Republicans to select who they would support from a list of potential presidential candidates.

Trump and Huckabee were each named by 19 percent of respondents as their preferred candidate. 12 percent chose former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, 11 percent former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, and 11 percent former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

7 percent indicated support for Texas Rep. Ron Paul, while 5 percent chose Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, and 3 percent selected Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels.

Performing poorly in the poll were former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, supported by 2 percent of respondents, and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, also supported by 2 percent.

The most dramatic changes since the poll’s last edition one month ago was a drop in support for Romney, whose support declined from 18 percent to 11 percent. Trump appears to have gained at Romney’s expense, increasing from 10 percent to 19 percent in the poll.

Nate Silver of the New York Times’ Five Thirty Eight tweeted a word of caution Tuesday afternoon. “People shouldn’t be reading too much into Romney’s drop in the CNN poll,” Silver wrote. “Small sample, noisy, etc. Romney led in NBC poll just last week.”