By Conn Carroll
There is no question about it ... Less than two full weeks after he announced he was in the race Texas Gov. Rick Perry has solidly established himself as the frontrunner. In the month prior to his announcement Perry trailed former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in the polls by an average of 7 points 21 to 14. But since he got into the race August 13th three polls have been conducted and
all three have Perry up by double-digits over Romney.
- Gallups poll taken August 17th through the 21st has Perry up 12 points over Romney 29-17 percent.
- A Rasmussen poll conducted August 15th has Perry up 11 points 29-18 percent.
- And a August 18th through the 21st Public Policy Polling poll has Perry up by 13 points 33-20 percent.
The Gallup poll released yesterday is full of more bad news for Romney. Perry beats him in every Republican subgroup except for East" and Liberal/Moderate."
Worse as The New York Times Nate Silver notes Perrys numbers have a much better potential for growth. Only two-thirds of Republican voters currently recognize Perrys name compared to 86 percent for Romney.
That means 4 in 10 Republicans who have heard of Perry already have him as their first choice. That is double the fraction for Romney.
There have not been as many post-announcement polls done at the state level but
Perry has rocketed to first place in PPPs latest Iowa poll. Despite skipping the Ames Straw Poll Perry tops Romney 22 to 19 percent with Rep. Michele Bachmann R-Minn. in third at 18 percent.
According to GOP rules the first four primary contests are Iowa New Hampshire and South Carolina. Romney better hope his lead in New Hampshire holds or this could end up being a really short race.
