POLL: Cain 24, Romney 23. 55% of GOP do not regard sexual misconduct allegation as serious matter. [View All]

[jefferson_dem]

Cain Shows Initial Resilience in the Face of Controversy

Herman Cain is showing initial resilience in the face of allegations of sexual impropriety: More than half of potential Republicans voters say the controversy is not serious, fewer than a quarter say it makes them less likely to support Cain, and he’s running essentially evenly with Mitt Romney for the Republican presidential nomination.

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As things stand, 24 percent of leaned Republicans favor Romney for the nomination and 23 percent support Cain — essentially a dead heat between the two. Rick Perry trails with 13 percent support — less than half his peak in September — and Newt Gingrich has advanced to 12 percent, essentially even with Perry. This marks Gingrich’s first foray out of the single digits.

Cain’s support is up from 16 percent in an ABC/Post poll a month ago. Cain however had a 7-point advantage over Romney, 30-23 percent, in a Quinnipiac University poll completed Monday night. This survey, done Monday through Thursday, finds a closer contest between them.

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ALLEGATION – Fifty-five percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say they do not regard the allegation of sexual misconduct as a serious matter. But while 22 percent of Cain’s own supporters call it serious, that jumps to 44 percent among those who aren’t backing Cain. Among Romney’s supporters it’s similar, at 49 percent.

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http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/11/cain-shows-initial-resilience-in-the-face-of-controversy/