USA Today POLL: Romney, Huckabee top Obama in 2012

[Dan]

Republicans Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney lead President Obama in Florida, according to a poll out today on the 2012 presidential race.

We know it's early to tout presidential polls, but this one is worth noting because Florida is an important swing state in the race for the White House. Obama beat Republican John McCain in Florida in 2008.

"President Obama's hopes for re-election will either be warmed or eclipsed by the Sunshine State," said Ron Sachs, who commissioned the survey by Mason-Dixon Polling Research.

Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, leads Obama 48%-43% in the Florida poll. Huckabee, who lives in Florida but is best known for his tenure as Arkansas' governor, leads Obama 49%-44%.

In the race for the GOP nomination, Romney is the choice of Florida voters and outpaces Huckabee, 23%-18%.

Real estate developer Donald Trump, who owns the famous Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, is behind Romney and Huckabee with 13%. In a hypothetical matchup, Obama would defeat Trump, 48%-40%, in Florida.

The poll of 800 registered voters was taken April 4-7. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.5 percentage points.

Our colleague David Jackson has more in The Oval on the latest Trump contretemps over Obama's birth certificate.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2011/04/barack-obama-florida-mike-huckabee-mitt-romney-presidential-poll-/1