Gallup: Perhaps ‘Most Competitive,’ ‘Most Unpredictable’ GOP Race in 40 Years

The latest Gallup poll of registered Republican and Republican-leaning voters shows Newt Gingrich in first place in the race for the GOP presidential nomination, edging Mitt Romney by 1 percentage point (22 to 21 percent). Herman Cain is in 3rd place, with 16 percent support — followed by Ron Paul at 9 percent, Rick Perry at 8 percent, Michele Bachmann at 4 percent, and Jon Huntsman and Rick Santorum at 1 percent apiece.

Gingrich has now also moved into first place in the Real Clear Politics average of recent polling.