WASHINGTON (Reuters) – White House hopeful Mitt Romney widened his lead over rival Newt Gingrich to 11 percentage points in Florida, according to Reuters/Ipsos online poll results on Saturday, up from 8 points a day earlier, as he cemented his front-runner status in the Republican nominationrace.
With just three days remaining before Florida’s Republican primary, Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, led Gingrich, a former speaker of the US House of Representatives, by 43 per cent to 32 per cent among likely voters in Florida’s Jan. 31 primary, the online poll said.
He had led Gingrich by 41 per cent to 33 per cent in the
online tracking poll on Friday. “The momentum in Florida … really seems to be moving in Romney’s direction,” said Chris Jackson, research director for Ipsos Public Affairs.
The poll confirmed that Romney’s fortunes are turning around in Florida a week after a stinging setback when Gingrich scored an upset win in South Carolina’s primary.
Romney has moved ahead of Gingrich in several Florida polls, after turning in his strongest debate performance yet in the seesawing race for the Republican nomination to oppose Democratic President Barack Obama’s bid for re-election in November.
The Reuters/Ipsos survey showed Romney also gained when voters were asked who they would support in a head-to-head contest with Gingrich. Yesterday’s results showed that 53 per cent would support him, versus 45 per cent for Gingrich.
