An Economist/YouGov poll released on Friday found that businessman Herman Cain continues to gain momentum in the race for the Republican presidential nomination and has a solid lead over former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts. The poll had Cain taking 33 percent followed by Romney with 18 percent and Texas Gov. Rick Perry in third with 10 percent. Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich garnered 9 percent followed by U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas with 7 percent, former Gov. Jon Huntsman of Utah with 4 percent and U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota with 3 percent. Two candidates -- former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and former Gov. Gary Johnson of New Mexico -- pulled less than 1 percent ... The same poll found President Barack Obama in solid shape in the unlikely event that he faces a major challenge in the Democratic primaries. Obama had the backing of 77 percent of the Democrats surveyed while 9 percent wanted to see another candidate emerge with the nomination. So far, no major candidates have emerged to challenge Obama in the primaries and there are no signs of any on the horizon ... The same poll found Obama beating both Romney and Perry in general election match-ups though he failed to break 50 percent against either of the Republican hopefuls. Obama beat Romney by 6 points -- 47 percent to 41 percent -- and did slightly better against Perry, beating the Texas governor 48 percent to 40 percent...

While conservative radio show host Rush Limbaugh backed Romney for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, this time out it’s a different story. Limbaugh took to the airwaves on Thursday to weigh in on Romney and the race for the Republican presidential nomination. “Romney is not a conservative,” Limbaugh said, though he said he liked the former governor personally and noted that he does well in debates. Limbaugh added that the Republican establishment was behind Romney. Earlier in the week, Limbaugh said that Romney was the candidate that Obama and many Democrats wanted to face in 2012 -- despite most polls showing Romney doing better than the other Republican hopefuls when matched up against the president ... Two of the dark-horse candidates -- Huntsman and Santorum -- are growing increasingly critical of Nevada moving its caucus up to Jan. 14. Both candidates say that this undermines the New Hampshire primary and have vowed not to take part in it. They also took aim at Romney, who is expected to do well in Nevada, saying his campaign is behind the move ... Ron Paul’s team, on the other hand, is raising the stakes in the Silver State. They opened a headquarters in Reno on Friday and the candidate himself will be on hand on Tuesday when they set up shop in Henderson, right outside of Las Vegas ...

The Romney camp announced on Friday they had raised $14.2 million in the third quarter of 2011. While they did not catch Perry -- who raised $17 million since entering the race in the middle of August -- they did exceed expectations which had them coming in anywhere between $11 million and $13 million. Paul placed third in the fundraising chase in the third quarter with $8 million ... On Friday, the Santorum campaign unveiled a major endorsement in South Carolina, which will hold the first primary in the South. The former senator from Pennsylvania scored the backing of state Sen. Greg Gregory, who represents Lancaster in the Palmetto State. Gregory is a veteran of South Carolina politics, having served 16 years in Columbia before returning in a special election earlier in the year ... Having won a major straw poll there back in August, Bachmann continues to focus on Iowa. The congresswoman hit Fort Dodge and Perry on Saturday as she continues building in the Hawkeye State ...

Americans Elect, the group looking to nominate a presidential candidate through online voting, continues to launch petition drives to get on the ballot in 2012. They have kicked off their effort to get 5,000 signatures in Montana and 10,000 in South Carolina. They are also looking to organize in Vermont and Mississippi -- which will give them ballot access in those states ... Bill Still announced last week that he will seek the Libertarian Party’s presidential nomination. A former newspaper columnist and editor, Still has produced and directed documentaries in recent years. Still is calling for monetary reform and ending the Federal Reserve ... In an interview with Politico on Tuesday, consumer advocate and former presidential candidate Ralph Nader said he hoped a third party or independent candidate entered the 2012 race. Nader said New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg could be a strong candidate with his record and financial fortune. Nader also said he could back the likes of enviromental activist and writer Bill McKibben, former Texas Agriculture Commissioner Jim Hightower, and health-care activist Dr. Quentin Young if they'd enter the race. Nader has ruled out running himself in 2012.

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