Gingrich Outpaces Romney In WSJ/NBC Poll

(Wall Street Journal) - Newt Gingrich is outpacing Mitt Romney by a comfortable margin among Republican voters nationwide, but also is showing evidence of the vulnerabilities that could hurt the former House speaker in a general election, according to the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.

With the two rivals fighting it out in Florida after Gingrich's big South Carolina victory last week, the poll found Republicans nationwide favoring Gingrich 37 percent to 28 percent over Romney. GOP voters gave the former House speaker high marks for knowledge and experience, while they continued to harbor doubts about Romney's positions on the issues and his feel for average Americans.

But the survey also finds that many Americans overall, notably political independents, hold negative feelings about Gingrich, and that Romney fares considerably better in a hypothetical matchup against President Barack Obama.

The poll captures on a larger stage much of the drama playing out now in Florida, where Romney is scrambling to stop Gingrich's resurgence by jabbing at his weaknesses. After trailing at the start of the week, Romney has moved to even or just ahead in more recent polls. Florida holds its primary next Tuesday.

The poll also puts a spotlight on the bigger issue of electability, registering a distinct uptick in positive sentiment both toward the economy and President Barack Obama. Greater confidence in the economy would strengthen Obama's position leading up to the November election.

Obama's approval rating nudged up to 48 percent, while 46 percent disapprove of the job he is doing, the first time the reading has moved into positive territory for the president since June. Obama was losing to a generic Republican candidate last month, but the new survey finds him beating an unnamed Republican 47 percent to 42 percent, his best margin in seven months.

Specifically, Obama tops both of the leading GOP candidates, but is far stronger against Gingrich. When Americans were asked how they would vote today, the president surpasses Romney by a 49 percent to 43 percent margin. Against Gingrich, his margin swells to 55 percent to 37 percent.

The poll of 1,000 adults was conducted between Jan. 22 and 24, after Gingrich's surprisingly strong victory in South Carolina's primary.

Among the other two GOP contestants still in the race, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum garnered 18 percent support among GOP primary voters, while Texas Rep. Ron Paul got 12 percent. When winnowed down to just the two frontrunners, 52 percent of Republicans picked Gingrich, compared with 39 percent for Romney.

The survey illuminates both where Gingrich has solidified his support among Republican stalwarts, but also underscores his broader weaknesses.

Gingrich owes his edge over Romney in large part to strong support in the South, where he leads the former Massachusetts governor by 24 percentage points. The former speaker notched outsized support among Tea Party supporters and Republicans who see themselves as "very conservative."

Meanwhile, though many analysts still see Romney as the candidate most likely to nab the nomination, the poll found him still failing to convince key blocks of his own party. Among Republican primary voters, he was favored by just 29 percent of women, 21 percent of Tea Party backers and 17 percent of strongly conservative Republicans. His largest segments of support comes from those calling themselves moderates and liberals.

Read more: Wall Street Journal