Poll Watch: USA Today/Gallup 2012 Republican Nomination Survey

USA Today/Gallup 2012 Republican Nomination Survey

• Mitt Romney 24%
• Rick Perry 17%
• Ron Paul 14%
• Michele Bachmann 13%
• Newt Gingrich 7%
• Herman Cain 4%
• Tim Pawlenty 3%
• Jon Huntsman 2%
• Rick Santorum 1%

Survey of 1,319 adults, including a subsample of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, was conducted August 4-7, 2011. The margin of error is +/- 4 percentage points.

Inside the numbers:

Perry narrowly leads Romney among Tea Party supporters, 23% to 22%. Bachmann claims 19% of backers of the Tea Party movement. 

Only 24% of those surveyed say most members of Congress deserve re-election, the lowest percentage since Gallup began asking the question in 1991. Fifty-six percent say their own representative deserves another term, similar to the levels just before tumultuous elections in 1994, 2006 and 2010 that changed control of the House or Senate. 

And a majority of Americans, 51%, say President Obama doesn't deserve re-election; 47% say he does. Obama bests an unnamed Republican presidential candidate by 49%-45%, though he remains below the 50% threshold.