During the past three weeks, the Republican presidential candidates have been involved in their most contentious debate — which included their most substantial exchange on health care — and Herman Cain has struggled on two fronts (explaining his position on abortion and responding to claims of impropriety). Now, the latest Rasmussen poll of likely Republican voters shows that, over that 3-week span, Newt Gingrich has gained the most ground, while Mitt Romney has lost the most ground. 

On October 12th, shortly before the most recent debate, Rasmussen showed Gingrich trailing Romney by 19 percentage points (29 to 10 percent). That gap has now closed to 9 points (23 to 14 percent).