Poll: Romney, Huckabee Run Close to Obama

Good news abounds for Republicans when it comes to next year’s presidential campaign. One piece of it is a new poll from Newsweek/Daily Beast showing two likely Republican presidential candidates running neck and neck with President Barack Obama.

Obama is tied with former Arkansas Gov. Huckabee at 46 percent. And while, the president leads former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney by 49-47 percent, that’s within the poll’s 3.5-percentage-point margin of error.

Real estate mogul/reality TV star Donald Trump, who also has made noises about running for the GOP nomination, is within striking distance of Obama too, trailing 43-41 percent. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, meanwhile, lags the president by 51-40 percent.

The Newsweek/Daily Beast poll follows a Gallup Poll earlier this month showing Obama tied against a generic Republican candidate.