Newt Gingrich has surged to a significant lead over Mitt Romney in Florida, now leading the former front-runner by 8 points, according to a new poll by InsiderAdvantage of likely Republican primary voters completed Sunday night.
The InsiderAdvantage poll of of 557 registered Republican voters is one of the first polls taken in Florida in the aftermath of the former House speaker's double-digit win in the South Carolina primary Saturday.
The poll results follow:
Gingrich: 34 percent
Romney: 26 percent
Ron Paul: 13 percent
Rick Santorum: 11 percent
Other: 2 percent
No opinion: 14 percent
The InsiderAdvantage poll was the first major survey last week to show the significant surge for Gingrich in South Carolina.
"The poll shows a huge bounce for Newt Gingrich, coming out of South Carolina," Matt Towery, chief pollster for InsiderAdvantage, told Newsmax. "It reflects the fact that Florida is a bellwether for the rest of the nation."
He added: "Gingrich has been closing the gap nationally, according to the Gallup tracking poll. Florida is a reflection that Republicans nationally are moving toward Gingrich."
He warned that the race is still “a very volatile situation . . . Romney's going to be loaded for bear and, if Newt stumbles in a debate . . . it could be real trouble for him.”
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