With the Presidential Preference Primary looming on Tuesday, Mitt Romney holds a solid lead over the Republican presidential pack in Florida, according to a Sunshine State News Poll of likely primary voters.

Romney tops the poll, which was conducted by Harrisburg, Pa.-based Voter Survey Service (VSS), with 40 percent. When he ran in the 2008 presidential primary, Romney placed second in Florida, taking 31 percent and winning 18 of the 67 counties in the Sunshine State. Newt Gingrich places second with 31 percent. Rick Santorum takes third with 12 percent followed by Ron Paul with 9 percent. One percent of those surveyed back other candidates while 6 percent remain undecided.

When the poll is recalculated with undecided voters who are leaning toward candidates, Romney takes 42 percent followed by Gingrich with 32 percent, while Santorum stays at 12 percent and Paul retains the backing of 9 percent.

“Romney continues to lead by 10 points over Gingrich when you factor in the undecided voters who are leaning toward a candidate,” James Lee, the president of VSS, told Sunshine State News on Thursday. “Among ‘excellent’ voters, including those who have already voted, Romney’s lead is 8 points. Given the tough couple of weeks Romney has had, you’d have to conclude he’s Teflon.”

Earlier in the month, a Sunshine State News/VSS poll found Romney taking 46 percent followed by Gingrich with 20 percent, Santorum with 12 percent and Paul with 9 percent.

Romney is also seen by Florida Republicans as the candidate with the best chance to defeat incumbent Democrat President Barack Obama in November. Forty-five percent of those surveyed think Romney has the best chance of knocking off Obama. Thirty-three percent believe Gingrich has the best chance of winning. Eight percent think Santorum has the best chance of winning, while 5 percent think Paul would be the strongest candidate to beat Obama. One percent of those surveyed think another candidate would do best against Obama in November.

The poll finds that Florida Republicans have been tuned in to the procession of debates between the presidential hopefuls, with 85 percent of them having watched at least one. Fifty-five percent say the debates have influenced their vote.

“The movement for Gingrich has clearly come from the televised debates,” Lee told Sunshine State News. “Among those who say the debates have influenced their opinions, Gingrich leads with 42 percent of the vote, while Romney is at 33 percent, Santorum 12 percent and Paul 8 percent. In comparison, among those who say they have not been influenced by the televised debates, Romney has a commanding lead at 50 percent, far ahead of the second-place challenger -- Gingrich at 19 percent. This says to me that Thursday’s final debate performance could be pivotal if Newt is the perceived winner.”

Lee said the debates played a greater role than televised ads in shaping the views of Florida Republicans.

“It’s also interesting to note that despite Romney’s dominance of the paid TV wars -- at least until recently when Gingrich got an infusion of late money -- only 15 percent say they have been influenced by the ads they have seen,” Lee noted. “This means either people already had their minds made up to support Romney, or that the ads are simply ineffective. Nonetheless, you’d have to wonder if ‘businessman’ Romney is happy with this return on investment when it’s clear from the poll that the televised debates are the only thing moving the numbers -- and not in his direction.”

While Romney leads in the Sunshine State, Lee noted that Gingrich has made progress with certain voters.