The Politico/George Washington University Battleground Poll and the NBC/Wall Street Journal Polls are the latest showing Rick Perry leading the GOP field by double digits. Additionally, the Real Clear Politics composite poll of GOP candidates has Perry on top by 11.7%.
Washington (CNN) – Two new polls provide more evidence that the entrance of Texas Gov. Rick Perry has drastically changed the race for the Republican presidential nomination.
The Politico/George Washington University Battleground Poll has Perry atop the field with 36 percent, followed by former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney at 17 percent and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and Texas Rep. Ron Paul tied at 10 percent.
The NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll delivered similar results. Perry is 38 percent of respondent’s first choice for the nomination, followed by Romney at 23 percent, Paul at 9 percent and Bachmann at 8 percent.
These polls are only the most recent to show Perry out in front of the field. Earlier polls from Gallup, Quinnipiac and CNN/ORC International all show a similar picture of the field.
Perry, the most recent entrant into the race, announced his run on Aug. 13, the same day that Bachmann won the Ames Straw Poll in the first-in-the-nation caucus state of Iowa.
Since that high point in her campaign, Bachmann has slipped in the polls.
Bachmann’s former campaign manager Ed Rollins, who stepped down Monday due to health problems, said Perry’s entrance “took a lot of our momentum.”
“Legitimately, it’s a Romney-Perry race,” Rollins said. “I think she’s the third candidate at this point in time, which is way different and better than we thought when we started this thing. She’s very much in this thing.”
Tags: Rick Perry
