Poll: Among GOP hopefuls, Romney fares best aganist Obama

Poll: Among GOP hopefuls, Romney fares best against Obama

ByBrian Montopoli

(Credit: CBS News)

CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney holds a two-point lead against President Obama in a potential general election matchup, according to a new CBS News poll.

The survey found that Romney is the only GOP candidate to hold a lead over the president in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup, though Texas Rep. Ron Paul trails by just one point.

Both Romney's lead over Mr. Obama - 47 percent to 45 percent - and Mr. Obama's lead over Paul - 46 percent to 45 percent - are within the survey's three percentage point margin of error.

The poll found Mr. Obama with leads of at least four points over the other major Republican presidential candidates. The president leads former Sen. Rick Santorum 47 percent to 43 percent; he leads Texas Gov. Rick Perry 49 percent to 42 percent; he leads former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman 48 percent to 41 percent; and he leads former Newt Gingrich 49 percent to 41 percent.

The survey was taken from Jan. 4-8, in the wake of Romney's narrow victory over Santorum in the Iowa caucuses.

Romney and Paul's relatively strong showings are driven by support from independent voters. Romney leads Mr. Obama by six points among independent voters, 45 percent to 59 percent, and Paul leads the president by seven points among independents, 47 percent to 40 percent. Independents favored Mr. Obama over the other GOP candidates.

Romney had the most support among Republican voters, garnering 90 percent support. The worst performing candidates among Republicans was Huntsman, with 80 percent support, followed by Gingrich and Paul, with 81 percent support each.

Romney's campaign has argued that Republicans should rally around the former Massachusetts governor in part because he is the most likely to beat Mr. Obama in November. His rivals, including Gingrich, have challenged that claim, with Gingrich pointing to Romney's inability to win over more than 30 percent of Republicans in state and national polls.

Romney, wholeads the field with 19 percent support in the new survey, is far more likely than any other Republican to be seen as a general election winner; 49 percent say he has the best chance to beat Mr. Obama, followed by Gingrich at 13 percent.

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