Romney’s appeal is much greater among college graduates (25%) than nongraduates (13%). Palin, meanwhile, fares better among nongraduates (18%) than college graduates (8%). The remaining candidates have fairly similar support by education.

Romney and Palin generally do better among conservatives than liberals and moderates. Paul is competitive with Romney and Palin for the top spot among liberals and moderates, though even combined, these groups make up a much smaller segment of the Republican base than conservatives do.

Further evidence that Paul’s support generally lies outside the Republican mainstream is that Republican-leaning independents are twice as likely to support him as are those who identify outright as Republicans. Romney and Palin lead among the larger group of Republican identifiers.