With five weeks to go until Iowa voters take part in the nation's first caucus, former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich is surging in polls of the early states that will shape the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

Gingrich is leading two new polls of Iowa released Tuesday.

He leads a We Ask America poll with 29 percent, followed by U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota and former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts tied for second with 13 percent each. U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas takes fourth with 11 percent followed by businessman Herman Cain with 7 percent. Gov. Rick Perry of Texas and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania take 5 percent apiece followed by former Gov. Jon Huntsman of Utah with 4 percent. The poll of 962 likely Iowa Republican caucus voters was taken Nov. 28 and had a margin of error of +/- 3.16 percent.

Gingrich also tops an Insider Advantage poll with 28 percent, followed by Paul with 13 percent and Romney with 12 percent. Cain and Bachmann tied for fourth with 10 percent each, followed by Perry with 7 percent and Santorum with 3 percent. The poll of 509 likely Iowa Republican caucus voters was taken Nov. 28 and had a margin of error of +/- 4 percent.

Romney is still leading in two new polls released on Tuesday of New Hampshire, which holds the first presidential primary, but he is hearing Gingrich’s footsteps. Gingrich won the endorsement of the New Hampshire Union Leader on Sunday and eight state legislators on Monday.

Romney tops a Rasmussen Reports poll of New Hampshire with 34 percent, followed by Gingrich with 24 percent. Paul takes third with 14 percent, followed by Huntsman with 11 percent. The poll of 762 likely Republican primary voters was conducted Nov. 28 and had a margin of error of +/- 4 percent. An Insider Advantage poll of New Hampshire, also released Monday, found Romney leading a much closer race -- taking 31 percent with Gingrich in second at 27 percent.

Two polls released Tuesday found Gingrich has surged to take command of the South Carolina Republican primary.

Gingrich tops an Insider Advantage/Majority Opinion Research poll, taken by the Augusta Chronicle, with 38 percent, followed by Romney with 15 percent. Cain places third with 13 percent. Paul places fourth with 7 percent, followed by Perry with 4 percent, Bachmann at 3 percent and Santorum at 2 percent. The poll of 519 likely Republican primary voters was taken Nov. 28 and had a margin of error of +/- 4 percent.

Gingrich also leads a poll of South Carolina from the American Research Group released Tuesday. He takes 38 percent, followed by Romney with 25 percent. Perry takes third in this poll with 9 percent, while Cain stands in fourth with 7 percent. Paul takes fifth with 5 percent, followed by Bachmann and Huntsman with 2 percent each. Santorum takes 1 percent, followed by two former governors -- Gary Johnson of New Mexico and Buddy Roemer of Louisiana -- with less than 1 percent. The poll of 600 likely Republican primary voters was taken Nov. 25-28 and had a margin of error of +/- 4 percent.

 

Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.