Great news for the GOP!
Former Govs. Mike Huckabee (Ark.), Sarah Palin (Alaska) and Mitt Romney (Mass.) make up the top tier of the 2012 Republican presidential field, according to a new poll from the Washington Post and ABC News.
Huckabee took 21 percent of the vote while Palin received 19 percent and Romney 17 percent among Republicans and GOP-leaning independents. No other potential candidate made it into double digits, although former House Speaker Newt Gingrich received 9 percent and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie took 8 percent. The rest of the field received 3 percent or less support.
As Dave Weigel notes, the new NBC/WSJ poll finds essentially the same thing, with Palin and Mitt swapping spots but Huckabee still leading the field and Newt creeping into double-digits with 10 percent support.
So the top tier of the GOP field is comprised of Mike Huckabee, who is the the second-laziest Presidential candidate ever (leading only Fred Thompson), Sarah Palin, who could be the the most politically toxic Presidential candidate ever, and Mitt Romney, who imposed an individual health insurance mandate as part of RomneyCare in Massachusetts (and let's not forget his attendance at a Planned Parenthood fundraiser).
And then leading the second tier is a Newt Gingrich, who lied about having an affair with an aide while impeaching President Clinton for lying about having an affair with an aide, and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie who wisely has ruled out a presidential bid given that he's got a shorter resume than Sarah Palin.
With such a crowded field of outstanding candidates it's no wonder that PPP found that just 47% of Republicans are content with the top of their field. Only 35% say they want a fresh face, however, so even though less than half of Republicans are happy with their leading candidates, the GOP might end up getting stuck with them.