Source: Quinnipiac polls of Florida Republicans released 8/4 and 9/22
Quinnipiac University. 9/14-19. Florida Republicans. MoE ±5.1% (7/27-8/2 results):
Perry: 31 (14)
Romney: 22 (24)
DK/NA: 13 (19)
Cain: 8 (9)
Gingrich: 8 (5)
Bachmann: 7 (7)
Paul: 6 (10)
Huntsman: 2 (1)
Santorum: 2 (1)
Someone else (VOL): 1 (3)
Wouldn't vote (VOL): 1 (3)
McCotter: - (-)
Pawlenty: na (3)
The Republican primary is still looking like a contest between Rick Perry and Mitt Romney: the GOP's top two candidates are the only ones in double-digits in Quinnipiac's latest survey of Republicans, with Perry ahead of Romney by nine points and Romney leading every other candidate by at least 14 points.
Mitt Romney has been trying to reinvent himself as the second coming of Franklin Delano Roosevelt on Social Security, but despite his efforts, he's dropped two points among Republicans since early August. Rick Perry gained 17 points over the same stretch, which included his official announcement. If it were a choice between Perry and Romney, Perry would best Romney by eight points, 46%-38%.
According to the poll, most Floridians don't think President Obama deserves re-election — just 41% think he does compared to 53% who think he doesn't. (Note/edit: Quinnipiac surveyed all Floridians for these questions, not just Republicans.) His handling of the debt ceiling and its aftermath appears to be big factor: before the debt deal, 47% thought he deserved reelection and 46% thought he didn't.
Romney leads Obama in a hypothetical matchup by a 47% to 40% margin, a huge shift from before the debt deal when Obama lead Romney by a 46%-41% margin. Obama narrowly leads Rick Perry by a 44%-42% margin, though that is also down from a 49%-36% lead before the debt deal.