Herman Cain continues to lead in Iowa, according to a new poll, despite taking a hit in his national standing.
According to a survey from Iowa State University, the Gazette Newspaper and TV station KCRG, the former Godfather’s Pizza CEO leads the GOP field in the hawkeye state with 24.5 percent support among likely caucus voters. Ron paul comes in second with 20.4 percent and Romney third with 16.3 percent.
Newt Gingrich, who has risen in prominence in recent weeks, comes in with only 4.8 percent, behind both Perry and Bachmann who chart at 7.9 and 7.6 percent respectively.
When respondents were asked who they would vote for as their second choice, Cain and Texas Governor Rick Perry came in neck and neck, with 16.9 percent for Cain and 16.7 percent for Perry. Romney received 11.8 percent and Paul came in at 11.1. No other candidate scored double digits.
The poll was conducted among 1,256 likely caucus voters between November 1st through the 13th. 979 registered Republicans were included in the survey as were 277 registered independents.
In a new national poll from Fox News, Cain comes in third. His diminished standing likely comes from sexual harassment allegations as well as his campaign’s lackluster response to them.
The Iowa Caucus is scheduled to be held January 3rd.
Full poll results can be found here.