New polls show a collapse in support for Mitt Romney, "remarkable erosion of support", 27% drop

What a difference a primary makes.

New polling data shows a remarkable erosion of support for Mitt Romney in just a matter of days, both among Republican voters he's appealing to now and the all-important independents he'd need in a general election.



Gallup's daily tracking poll Tuesday puts Newt Gingrich back on top the field of presidential hopefuls among Republicans nationally, having erased what had been a 24-point Romney lead in only nine days.

The former House speaker is supported by 31% of GOP voters sampled, up from 13% a little more than a week ago, while Romney has slipped to 27%, down 10 percentage points in the same period.

For Gingrich, it's his first lead nationally among Republicans in Gallup's poll since late December.

Meanwhile a new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows Romney has a 51% unfavorable rating among independent voters, the highest number they've recorded in six years for the former Massachusetts governor. Only 23% view him favorably.

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-collapse-in-support-for-mitt-romney-20120124,0,2578876.story