Politico reports, that one line Romney officials are peddling to diffuse Perrymentum is that the Texas governor’s national polling totals are “inflated” by his strong showing in the South. There is some support for this claim.
Gallup’s poll showing Perry up 12 points Romney does indicate that the lion’s share of Perry’s support is coming from the South where Perry has a 27 point lead (39 to 12). Perry’s lead in the Midwest is only 3 points (23 to 20), and he leads Romney by 6 points (28 to 20) out West. Romney actually beats Perry in the East 17 to 16 percent.
CNN’s poll shows a slightly less dramatic Perry dependence on southern support. CNN did not produce region totals for the East, West, or Midwest, but their subtotals for the South (Perry up 34 to 17) mostly match their national numbers (32 to 18).
