Newt's Lead Cut to One; Romney Drops to Third

As you can see from the chart Newt Gingrich's big surge has declined to just a single point advantage and that is over Ron Paul who has taken over second place. Mitt Romney has dropped to third and Michele Bachmann has eased into fourth. Gingrich's favorability rating has dropped too, from 62/31 to 52/40. That's a 19 point drop in just one week. Public Policy Polling attributes that decline to negative attacks but I would question that assumption. I prefer to think voters over reacted when Gingrich criticized Paul Ryan's budget then over reacted a second time when Herman Cain imploded. The most significant move in the poll belongs to Romney and I doubt if it gives him much joy. Bachmann and Perry have continued to make incremental improvements. You can view the entire poll here.