Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney continues to lead the Republican field in the run up to the 2012 Presidential election, according to a new Gallup poll.
Among announced candidates, the survey shows Romney leading over his closest challenger, Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, by 27-18 percent. Ron Paul comes in third at 11 percent and all other candidates fail to land double digits.
When candidates who have not officially announced their entry into the race are thrown into the mix, Romney maintains his frontrunner status, but less strongly. He holds a slight 17-15 percent lead over Texas Governor Rick Perry and a five point lead over former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, who takes 12 percent of the vote. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani comes in with 11 percent. If only Perry enters the race, Romney leads 23 percent to 18 percent and if only Palin decides to host a run, Romney leads 23 percent to 15 percent.
The poll was conducted July 20th through 24th among 1,088 Republicans and Republican leaning independents.