Florida poll: Perry 25, Romney 25, Gingrich 9

The Republican race for president is a two-man tie in Florida, but voters think that Mitt Romney has a slightly better chance of becoming president. Romney and Rick Perry are virtually dead even, garnering 25 percent each of the Republican vote, with Newt Gingrich a distant third at 9 percent, according to the survey by War Room Logistics, a Gainesville firm that polls and consults for Republicans

But in a general election match-up, only Romney matches Obama, pulling in 45 percent of the vote to the presidents 44 percent – a lead that’s well within the overall error margin of the poll that sampled 1,400 self-described likely Florida voters.

“It appears that Romney has cross over-appeal in this early stage, especially with the fickle Independent vote,” pollster Alex Patton noted in an email. Only Romney bests Obama among independents, 45-39. Obama would beat Perry right now, 48-40 percent.