Tea Party supporters overwhelming preference for Texas Gov. Rick Perry over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney gave Perry a 14-point lead in CNN’s latest poll of the Republican presidential field.
Without former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin or former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani in the race, Perry is up 32-18 over Romney with Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., in third at 12%. Since the last CNN poll, conducted August 5th-7th, Perry has gained 14 points (from 18 to 32) while Romney has fallen five points (from 23 to 18).
Perry’s support is strongest among “Tea Party Supporters” who prefer Perry over Romney by a 30-point margin (41 to 11). Republicans who describe themselves as “Tea Party Neutral” only prefer Perry by 3%. Romney also does well among “moderate” Republicans where he only trails Perry by 4%. Conservatives prefer Perry by 21%.
Romney actually does a lot better among those making under $50,000 than among those who make more, but the gap disappears when Republican voters are grouped by educational attainment. Romney only trails Perry by 5% among those making less than $50K, while Perry beats Romney by 21% among those who make more. Meanwhile, Perry leads Romney by an identical 15-point margin among both those who attended college and those who did not.
