Most in poll think Romney will clinch GOP nomination

By Dan Balz and Jon Cohen,
WashPost
Published: January 16

Mitt Romney holds a strong lead nationally in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, with a 2 to 1 advantage over his closest competitors, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Romney won the first two contests in the nominating process, and none of the other candidates has been able to demonstrate the broad, sustained support among the party’s conservative base that would translate into a successful challenge. An overwhelming majority of Republicans predict that he will be President Obama’s opponent in November.

The poll highlights the significance of Saturday’s primary in South Carolina, which could be the last chance for Romney’s main opponents to halt his steady march toward the nomination. A loss by the former Massachusetts governor, however, could change the dynamic of the contest by helping to catapult one of his rivals into a head-to-head matchup in Florida’s primary on Jan. 31.

Romney wins the support of 35 percent of all Republicans and GOP-leaners nationwide, with former House speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.) and Rep. Ron Paul (Tex.) neck and neck with about half the support Romney enjoys. Former senator Rick Santorum (Pa.), who surged to a second-place finish in the Iowa caucuses, checks in at 13 percent, his highest level of the campaign. Texas Gov. Rick Perry runs fifth, at 9 percent, rounding out a field that shrank Monday with the decision by former Utah governor Jon Huntsman Jr. to quit the race and endorse Romney.

(More here.)