Texas Gov. Rick Perry has been doing something right because GOP insiders — those who, you can bet, consider electability before all — now say he’s the second most-likely GOP candidate for president after former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, according to the National Journal:

For five consecutive Political Insiders Polls dating back to January, 2010, Romney has held onto his first-place ranking in this survey. And his most recent rating is the highest score he’s achieved in any of the surveys. But as some prospective Republican presidential contenders decided not to make the race–like governors Haley Barbour of Mississippi and Mitch Daniels of Indiana–and GOP White House hopefuls like former governors Tim Pawlenty and Jon Huntsman of Utah have slipped, Perry has rocketed into contention, even though he has yet to declare he’s a candidate.

Pawlenty is ranked as the third leading contender for the nomination, but his fellow Minnesotan, Rep.Michele Bachmann is breathing down his neck in fourth place in the rankings. Two months ago Pawlenty was ranked second and his Insiders Index ranking was more than five times Bachmann’s score. The intervening CNN New Hampshire Republican presidential debate where Bachmann showed passion and Pawlenty punted an opportunity to challenge Romney on health care, apparently made a big impression on Republican Insiders in this relatively fluid contest. Huntsman rounds out the top-five.

At the same time, some of the biggest names in the GOP have now become afterthoughts to lead the party in 2012: former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who remains a popular figure among conservative Republicans, has tumbled to eighth spot in the GOP Insiders ranking. And former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, the architect of the party’s 1994 takeover of the House, has fallen out of the top-ten rankings altogether.

Just as the reasons for Romney’s popularity with Republican political operatives are predictable — in a nutshell, he’s paid his dues — so the reasons for Perry’s rise to prominence are predictable, too. As one GOP insider put it, “He has more juice than Bachmann and is viewed as more authentic than Romney.” In short, he is a Tea Party personality with establishment credentials.

It’s certainly interesting to note the many differences between “insider” rankings and our own Hot Air candidate survey results. “Insiders” rank former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty ahead of Rep. Michele Bachmann, for example, and consider former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman a credible candidate (even though no one seems to really think he’ll be the nominee. Said one insider, ever-so-aptly: “Not sure about the strategy, but he is appealing to a specific wing of the party in a crowded field — the elitist and moderate wing.”). With “insiders,” former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin barely makes the list. In contrast, the HA faithful pick Palin over anybody actually in the race and like Bachmann best of those who have actually declared, while Pawlenty and Huntsman barely make a blip on the chart. The glaring similarity? In both polls, Perry is surging.

Update: This article originally mistakenly referred to Tim Pawlenty as the former governor of Massachusetts, when, of course, he’s actually the former governor of Minnesota.