MSNBC is reporting that an NBC/WSJ poll puts GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain in the lead in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Mark Murphy reports that Cain's popularity has been fueled by Tea Party supporters, conservatives and high-interest GOP primary voters.
Onetime front-runner Texas Gov. Rick Perry has plummeted to third place, dropping more than 20 percentage points since late August.
"Cain is the leader … That's the story," said Democratic pollster Peter D. Hart, who conducted this survey with Republican pollster Bill McInturff.
McInturff cautions that Cain's ascent — and Perry's decline — is probably not the last shakeup in a GOP race that has seen a series of sudden rises and abrupt falls (first Donald Trump, then Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and now Perry) in the field.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney came in second at 23 percent and Perry at 16 percent. After those three, it's Texas Rep. Ron Paul at 11 percent, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at 8 percent, Bachmann at 5 percent and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman at 3 percent.
The GOP race for the presidential nomination just got more interesting. Cain's 9-9-9 tax plan undoubtedly helped propel him to the lead. We suspect that the gloves are really going to come off now that Cain is in the lead. Time will tell if the former Godfather's Pizza CEO will be able to maintain his lead in a race that could go in any direction.
Read more at MSNBC.
In other news: Hedge Fund Founder Sentenced to 11 Years.