According to an NBC News/Marist poll, Romney leads with 23 percent of potential Republican primary voters. Cain is close behind with 20 percent. U.S. Sen. Ron Paul sits in third with 12 percent. Texas Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Rep. Michelle Bachmann are a distant fourth at 10 percent. No other candidate registered more than 4 percent. About 20 percent of the electorate remains undecided.
Another survey by left-leaning Public Policy Polling showed Cain, 30 percent of likely caucus voters, with a significant edge over Romney, 23 percent, and the rest of the field. In that poll, Paul still finished in third with 10 percent. Perry followed with 9 percent, and Bachmann registered fifth among the early front-runners with 8 percent.
Former state Rep. Jim Kurtenbach, R-Nevada, who's also former co-chairman of the Iowa GOP, told Statehouse News Online in its report on the poll numbers he believes Cain and Romney's business experience have endeared them to voters.
"One thing that I hear is: 'We really need someone who understands what it takes to make a payroll, what it means to raise money for business and cut through regulatory red tape,'" Kurtenbach said. "That's what you're seeing in both -- very genuine business leaders with significant CEO experience."
