Although it’s well within the poll’s four-point margin-of-error, businessman and GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain is atop the leader board in the latest American Research Group poll of likely Republican South Carolina voters, coming in at 26 percent and closely followed by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney at 25 percent.
Surprisingly, Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s 15 percent in this southern state puts him at a distant third. None of the other candidates scored in double digits and 12 percent of those polled were undecided.
But the real surprise in the poll is that both Independent voters and those who consider themselves Tea Party Republicans favor Cain over Romney and Perry.
What this may tell voters and analysts alike is that Cain – at least for the time being – is attracting support from both sides of the Republican spectrum. Something Rick Santorum or Jon Huntsman wish they could accomplish.
Cain must now take advantage of the free airtime in the next couple of debates and on the stump in New Hampshire, Florida and Iowa, banking that his executive experience in the private sector will be as effective as Romney’s private and public sector experience and make up for his lack of staff and resources.
If he is successful in this area, his poll numbers will most likely remain steady and strong. If not, Cain just may just be the “flavor of the month,” as opposed to Romney, the “salt and pepper” that always stays in the middle of the table.
