WASHINGTON — After a quick rise in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, Texas Gov. Rick Perry has experienced an almost equally dramatic decline, losing about half of his support over the past month, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
Perry’s slide, which comes after several uneven performances in candidate debates, has allowed former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney to resurface atop the GOP field. But the most direct beneficiary is businessman Herman Cain, who is now tied for second place.
Perry’s rapidly changing fortunes underscore the fluidity of the Republican race and the lingering dissatisfaction with the candidates. That has led some major donors and party leaders to urge New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to declare his candidacy. But the Post-ABC poll finds only modest public support for a Christie candidacy. About 42 percent of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents say they would like to see the New Jersey governor join the race. And 34 percent say no, with the rest offering no opinion.
That finding is far more positive than the receptiveness to a candidacy by Sarah Palin. Two- thirds of Republicans say they do not want her to seek the party’s nomination.
Among announced candidates — without Christie or Palin in the race — Romney leads with 25 percent, which is identical to his support from a month ago. Perry and Cain are tied for second with 16 percent, numbers representing a 13-point drop for Perry and a 12-point rise for Cain since early September.
Rep. Ron Paul of Texas is the only other candidate in double figures, at 11 percent.
Responding to the poll findings that most Americans expect he’ll be a one-term president, President Barack Obama says he’s “absolutely” the underdog in his bid for re-election.
“I don’t mind. I’m used to being an underdog.”
The president said that voters would ultimately make a decision based on “who’s got a vision for the future that can actually help ordinary families recapture that American dream.”
The Sept. 29-Oct. 2 phone poll of 1,002 adults has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points; it is 6 points for the sample of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents.
Tribune Co. contributed to this report.
