Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney ties Obama at 47 percent among registered voters in the poll, but fully 21 percent of all voters say they’d pick Paul as an independent candidate over either Romney or the president. Obama would win such a three-way match-up by 10 percentage points. The potential damage is less obvious for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who trails Obama by eight points in a two-way contest and 11 points with Paul in the mix…

Romney performs 18 percentage points worse among conservatives when Paul is included as a third party candidate, and Gingrich sinks 13 points among the key Republican group. Obama’s support among liberals drops 11 points with Paul in a three-way race against Romney, with Paul winning more than a quarter of liberal voters.