Romney ‘has 12-point lead in Florida’

Florida Polls Indicate Romney Has 12-Point Lead and Putting Real Pressure on Democratic Opponents

From Reuters:

Florida Polls Indicate Romney Has 12-Point Lead

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks during a Nashua Chamber of Commerce breakfast on January 9, 2012 in Nashua, New Hampshire. Photo/AFP

Mitt Romney has opened up a 12-point lead over the rest of the Republican presidential field in the US battleground state of Florida, pollsters said Monday, a day before he was tipped to cruise to a win in New Hampshire.

The Quinnipiac University survey found that Romney has surged ahead in the southern state, seen as key in deciding the outcome of the November election.

Quinnipiac found that 36 percent of Republican likely voters said they were likely to vote for Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, when Florida holds its primary on January 31, compared with 24 percent for former House speaker Newt Gingrich.

Pennsylvania’s former senator Rick Santorum was in third place with 16 percent and US Representative Ron Paul fourth at 10 percent.