In May, Romney defended the Mass.
health care reform plan and
its individual mandate
Anderson Robbins Research (D) & Shaw & Company Research (R) for Fox News (6/26-28/11, Republican primary voters,
6/5-7/11 in parens):
Mitt Romney (R): 18 (23)
Rick Perry (R): 13 (--)
Michele Bachmann (R): 11 (4)
Rudy Giuliani (R): 10 (13)
Sarah Palin (R): 8 (12)
Ron Paul (R): 7 (5)
Herman Cain (R): 5 (4)
Tim Pawlenty (R): 3 (5)
Newt Gingrich (R): 3 (7)
Jon Huntsman (R): 3 (2)
(MoE: ±5.5%)
National primary preference polls are sort of meaningless in that there isn't an actual national primary, but Romney's failure to break away from the pack is notable, especially considering the turbulence in the field. Romney's down by 5 points from earlier in the month.
Overall, the Romney trendlines suggest that at least thus far, there's been a ceiling to Mitt Romney's support. Even though he's the most well-known candidate, he just can't build a significant lead. Check out his numbers from polls conducted by the same firm for Fox:
June 26-28, 2011: 18
June 5-7, 2011: 23
April 25-27, 2011: 19
April 3-5, 2011: 14
July 21-22, 2009: 22
May 12-13, 2009: 18
On paper, Romney's definitely the front-runner, but he hasn't gotten a boost from the withdrawal of either Trump or Huckabee from the field. This is the first time that Fox has polled Perry's name and he's opening strong. Bachmann also does well, up from 4% in the previous poll.