Gingrich has come under increasing attack from his rivals in debates, on the campaign trail, and in television ads since he became the front-runner this month, which may be chipping away at his support, now at 31% after being 37% in the initial tracking report.
At the same time, Romney’s support has been fairly stable over this time. In fact, the decline in Gingrich’s support has not been offset by an increase in another candidate’s support; instead, there has been an increase in the “undecided/no opinion” category, which is up five percentage points in the past week.
Many Republican voters may choose to cast a “strategic vote” in their state’s primary or caucus, voting for the candidate they think has the best chance of winning, whether or not it is the candidate who is closest to them on issues or other dimensions they use to evaluate candidates. Gallup asked Republican voters whether they think Gingrich or Romney has the better chance of defeating Obama in the 2012 general election, and found a fairly even divide, with 44% saying Gingrich and 40% Romney.
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