No Republican presidential hopeful has supporters as fervent as Herman Cain’s, says a new
Gallup poll that measures voter feelings of “positive intensity” toward the candidates. Cain, a conservative radio talk-show host based in Atlanta and a former Godfather’s Pizza CEO, matched Gallup’s highest Positive Intensity Score, with 27, for any 2012 GOP prospect.
He continues to lag behind most of the field in name recognition, although he has gained 12 percentage points in that category since Gallup asked poll respondents in March whether they know who Cain is.
Gallup measures positive intensity by grouping all of the people in a survey who recognize a particular candidate, and subtracting the percentage with a “strongly negative” opinion of the candidate from the percentage who are “strongly positive.” The remaining number forms Gallup’s Positive Intensity Score.
Cain’s 27 puts him ahead of Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., who has the second-highest score with 23. Trailing are eight more prospects, most with higher name recognition than Cain but less positive intensity. The list includes Sarah Palin (16), Mitt Romney (15), Tim Pawlenty (14), Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas (11), and Newt Gingrich (11).
“There is thus no potential candidate who at this point combines a high name ID with strongly positive reactions among Republicans,” Gallup reported.