Republican presidential candidates, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (L) and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-GA) talk during a commercial break as they participate in the NBC News, National Journal, Tampa Bay Times debate held at the University of South Florida on January 23, 2012 in Tampa, Florida. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
SurveyUSA Poll for 11Alive
If the Georgia Republican Primary for President of the United States were today, and you were filling out your Republican primary ballot now, who would you vote for?
Newt Gingrich - 45%
Mitt Romney - 32%
Rick Santorum - 9%
Ron Paul - 8%
Undecided - 4%
Other - 2%
* Cell-phone and home-phone respondents included in this research. SurveyUSA interviewed 1,340 state of Georgia adults 02/01/12 and 02/02/12, after results of the 01/31/12 Florida primary were known. Of the adults, 1,144 were registered to vote. Of the registered voters, 459 were determined by SurveyUSA to be likely to vote in the 03/06/12 Georgia Republican Primary.
ATLANTA -- Former Georgia Congressman Newt Gingrich remains strong in the Peach State, despite a recent loss in Florida.
DECISION 2012 | Election and Politics coverage from 11Alive's Bullfighters
In a SurveyUSA poll conducted for 11Alive, 45 percent of adults in Georgia said they would vote for Gingrich if the Georgia primary were held today. That's a 13 point lead over his closest rival, Mitt Romney; 32 percent of respondents said they would vote for the former Massachusetts governor.
Click here to read the raw data.
However, the poll shows that Gingrich has lost about one-third of his Georgia support since a December SurveyUSA poll, which reported Gingrich's support at 65 percent. Romney polled at 12 percent in December, which means he has nearly tripled his total.
The latest poll surveyed 459 likely GOP voters on February 1-2, 2012, following Romney's convincing win in the Florida GOP primary. Georgia holds its primary on March 6.
Rick Santorum polled in a distant third place with support from 9 percent of respondents. In December, Santorum got only one percent.
He was closely trailed by Ron Paul, who received support from 8 percent of Georgians. That's an increase from five percent in December.
The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.7 percent.
Romney's support was strongest among higher income respondents, voters living in metro Atlanta, and voters with more education.
"Gingrich in Georgia has a Net Favorability of Minus 7. Romney has a Net Favorability of Minus 17," SurveyUSA analysts said in a statement released with the poll. "Still, that is enough for either Republican to defeat Barack Obama in the general election in November, and keep Georgia's 16 electoral votes safely Republican red."
SurveyUSA interviewed 1,340 state of Georgia adults 02/01/12 and 02/02/12, after results of the 01/31/12 Florida primary were known. Of the adults, 1,144 were registered to vote. Of the registered voters, 459 were determined by SurveyUSA to be likely to vote in the 03/06/12 Georgia Republican Primary. This research was conducted with blended sample, multi-mode. Respondents reachable on a home telephone (78% of registered voters, 87% of likely Republican Primary voters) were interviewed on their home telephone in the recorded voice of a professional announcer. Respondents unreachable on a home telephone (22% of registered voters, 13% of likely Republican Primary voters), were shown a questionnaire on their smartphone, tablet, laptop or other electronic device. In this research, cell-phone respondents vote differently than landline respondents. Obama defeats Romney by 4 points among cell phone respondents, but loses to Romney by 12 points among home-phone respondents. Obama defeats Gingrich by 6 points among cell-phone respondents, but loses to Gingrich by 9 points among home-phone respondents.