Mitt Romney led the current field of both official and unofficial candidates, with 17 percent of poll respondents selecting the former Massachusetts governor as their choice for the GOP nomination. Perry, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani rounded out the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 spots with 15 percent, 12 percent and 11 percent of respondents casting their votes for the contenders, respectively. Bachmann received 11 percent of the vote and Rep. Ron Paul, R-Lake Jackson, took 8 percent.
The important note for Perry supporters is not his second place finish in that poll, but how the Texan affects Bachmann’s polling numbers. Gallup asked respondents who they would support if only one of the undeclared candidates – Perry, Palin and Giuliani – entered the race.
When Palin jumps in, Bachmann got 16 percent of the respondents’ votes. With Giulani in, Bachmann took 17 percent. But when Perry enters the race, Bachmann drops to just 13 percent.
Without any of the undeclared candidates in the race, Bachmman receives 18 percent of the vote, behind only Romney. Stastically, this means Perry could take up to 30 percent of Bachmann votes away from the Minnesota representative.
Both Perry, if he jumps into the race, and Bachmann will aggressively court Tea Party Republicans who have idolized the two politicos. As the pair battles throughout the primaries, members of the Tea Party will have to throw their support behind either Perry and Bachmann – and from the look of the Gallup poll and a Public Policy Polling survey released earlier this month, Perry may be the biggest threat to the Bachmann campaign.
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Want to learn more about Rick Perry and his presidential prospects? Visit TxPotomac’s Perry Watch pages for the latest polls, media hype, issues, supporters and critics, details about ‘Who is Rick Perry?,” and details of the Rick Perry explor-a-tour.
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