Gallup is out with a national poll testing a number of possible late entries into the GOP primary. The survey is encouraging for Rick Perry, who would begin with 18 percent of the vote and trail Mitt Romney by 5 percentage points. Michele Bachmann would be in third place with 13 percent, followed by Ron Paul with 10 percent. The survey finds that if either Sarah Palin or Rudy Giuliani entered the race, they'd fare a bit worse than Perry, taking 15 and 14 percent, respectively. If all three got into the race, it would be a free-for-all, with Romney at 17 percent, Perry at 15 percent, Palin at 12 percent and Giuliani and Bachmann tied at 11 percent.
It's extremely unlikely that Perry, Palin and Giuliani will all get into the race, but it's still notable that Romney's support drops from 27 percent against the current field, to 17 percent against a field that includes those three big- name opponents. That suggests that 10 percent — more than a third — of people who pick Romney as their first choice right now would prefer, or at least be willing, to vote for someone else.
Also worth pointing out: Herman Cain's support has dropped to 5 percent nationally, confirming his fade as a political and media phenomenon. Newt Gingrich continues to hold onto 7 percent, while two candidates considered far more viable, Tim Pawlenty and Jon Huntsman, take 4 and 2 percent respectively.
