CBS/NYT: dos front-runners

The New York Times:

About eight in ten Republican primary voters say it is still too early to tell whom they will support, and just four in ten say they have been paying a lot of attention to the 2012 presidential campaign, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

Herman Cain, the former restaurant executive, is currently riding a wave of support among Republican primary voters that has placed him in a statistical dead heat with rival Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, in a race that has been characterized by momentum swings among the candidates.

The poll found the highest levels of support for Mr. Cain, with 25 percent of Republican primary voters, and Mr. Romney, with 21 percent. This difference is within the poll’s margin of sampling error.

Adding to the fluidity of the contest, about one in ten Republican primary voters say they would like to see someone else nominated.

Support for Texas Governor Rick Perry has weakened to 6 percent, placing him among the second-tier with Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul, who have the backing of 10 percent and 8 percent of Republican primary voters, respectively. Michele Bachmann, Jon M. Huntsman Jr., and Rick Santorum are all struggling to gain some kind of traction with the Republican electorate – none of the three drew more than 2 percent of support among Republican primary voters.