With three days to go until the South Carolina primary, Mitt Romney's lead over Newt Gingrich is shrinking, according to a new CNN/Time/ORC International poll.
Romney holds a 10-point lead over Gingrich among likely primary voters, the poll indicates, but that's down from the 19-point lead Romney had just two weeks ago. The survey showed Romney at 33% and Gingrich at 23%. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum stands at 16%, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas is at 14% and Texas Gov. Rick Perry is at 6%.
The survey was released on the eve of the CNN-Southern Republican presidential debate, the final showdown among the candidates before Saturday's primary. That will be the third contest in the primary and caucus calendar and the first in the South.
The poll also surveyed likely voters in Florida's GOP presidential primary, which follows South Carolina on January 31, and found that Romney still holds a commanding lead there with 43% of l ikely voters backing Romney while Santorum stood at 19%, Gingrich at 18%, Paul at 9% and Perry at 2%.
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