Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich are virtually tied among Floridians asked to choose a Republican presidential candidate, according to a new poll cited by
The Buzz blog of the St. Petersburg Times. Romney and Gingrich, at 16 and 15 percent, respectively, lead a May 11-13 polling sample that also included Mike Huckabee — in third place with 11 percent — before he announced he wouldn’t run.
With Huckabee out, “The Republican presidential race in Florida is wide open,” said pollster Buzz Jacobs, a former regional manager for Sen. John McCain’s 2008 campaign.
Jacobs’ firm, Sunshine State Communications, also found New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as the favorite of 9 percent of the poll's respondents, followed by Sarah Palin (8 percent), Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota (3 percent), Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (3 percent), Tim Pawlenty (2 percent), and Jon Huntsman (1).
The biggest share of the vote, 32 percent, went to “undecided/other.”
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