Newt Gingrich is outpacing Mitt Romney by a comfortable margin among Republican voters nationwide, but also is showing evidence of the vulnerabilities that could hurt the former House speaker in a general election, according to the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.
With the two rivals fighting it out in Florida after Mr. Gingrich's big South Carolina victory last week, the poll found Republicans nationwide favoring Mr. Gingrich 37% to 28% over Mr. Romney. GOP voters gave the former House speaker high marks for knowledge and experience, while they continued to harbor doubts about Mr. Romney's positions on the issues and his feel for average Americans. WSJ/NBC News Poll
Poll archive: Results of previous WSJ/NBC News polls
But the survey also finds that many Americans overall, notably political independents, hold negative feelings about Mr. Gingrich, and that Mr. Romney fares considerably better in a hypothetical matchup against Democratic President Barack Obama.
The poll captures on a larger stage much of the drama playing out now in Florida, where Mr. Romney is scrambling to stop Mr. Gingrich's resurgence by jabbing at his weaknesses. After trailing at the start of the week, Mr. Romney has moved to even or just ahead in more recent polls. Florida holds its primary next Tuesday.
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