Gingrich drops to tie with Romney in new poll

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich's support among Republican voters has slipped to tie with that of Mitt Romney, according to a new national poll released on Monday. Twenty-eight percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say that the former House speaker is their choice for their party's nominee, with an equal amount supporting Romney, the former Massachusetts Governor, according to a CNN/ORC International survey. In the previous CNN poll conducted last month, Gingrich led Romney by a margin of 24 percent to 20 percent. The changing numbers indicated that with only two weeks until Iowa kicks off the nation's first caucuses on Jan. 3, the GOP nomination race remains fluid and unpredictable. Among other candidates, House Rep. Ron Paul of Texas ranks third at 14 percent, Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota at 8 percent, Texas Governor Rick Perry at 7 percent, former Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania at 4 percent, and former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman at 2 percent. "Romney's appeal to Republican voters seems to be based mostly on his personal qualities, many of which -- including likability and trustworthiness -- are problem areas for Gingrich," CNN Polling Director Keating Holland said in explaining the results. Riding strong performances at Republican primary debates, Gingrich rocketed early this month in opinion polls -- both nationally and in some key early voting states -- to become the undisputed front-runner in the race for the GOP nomination. In some polls, his support even reached mid-30s nationwide, a scene not seen on previous front-runners including Romney, Perry and businessman Herman Cain who dropped out early Dec.. Despite his strong momentum, Gingrich's campaign prospect was doubted by conventional wisdom given the huge "baggage" he's carrying -- two divorces, previous consultancy for Freddie Mac, among others. Gingrich's lead in some early voting states also showed signs of decline. In Iowa, his top position was edged out by Paul, according to a new Public Policy Polling survey published on Sunday. The poll has Gingrich with 14 percent of the vote, down from 22 percent in the same poll one week earlier, putting him in the third place behind Paul (23 percent) and Romney (20 percent).