Public Policy Polling (8/18-21, Republican primary voters):
Rick Perry: 33
Mitt Romney: 20
Michele Bachmann: 16
Newt Gingrich: 8
Herman Cain: 6
Ron Paul: 6
Rick Santorum: 4
Someone else/not sure: 5
Jon Huntsman: 3
(MoE: ±3.8%)
Obviously, the GOP nominating process is a state-by-state affair, so national surveys are really only useful for observing trends, but wow, what a trend for Rick Perry. It's the first PPP national survey since his announcement, but in pre-announcement polling he registered in the low teens. Now he's opened up huge leads over Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin Michele Bachmann, and the rest of the field is stuck in single-digits.
In a hypothetical head-to-head matchup, Republicans prefer Perry over Romney by a 52%-36% margin and they prefer Perry over Bachmann by an even larger 56%-26% margin. At least based on this survey, Rick Perry seems to be the clear front-runner, and Mitt Romney is going to have to completely reevaluate his campaign strategy.
11:39 AM PT: Of all the candidates, Rick Perry is viewed most favorably by GOP primary voters with a +47 net favorable rating. Romney and Bachmann are still viewed favorably however, with +18 and +19 net ratings, respectively.
Jon Huntsman was the only candidate surveyed with a net negative approval rating. He clocked in with a -8 mark. Shockingly, it turns out Republicans really don't like candidates who attack their party and its whacko orthodoxy.
12:00 PM PT: Gallup is out with a poll showing basically the same thing: Perry up by 12 over Romney, 16 over Paul, and 19 over Bachmann.