In none of the latest crop of surveys did the leader of the poll top 20% support among likely Republican primary voters or caucusgoers. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker topped the Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Iowa poll with a scant 16%. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush sat atop two recent polls out of New Hampshire, with 17% in a poll from the University of New Hampshire and WMUR and 16% in another from Bloomberg and St. Anselm College.
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Voters in these early states are used to the spotlight and accustomed to taking their time to make up their minds. In that UNH/WMUR poll, 85% of likely Republican primary voters said they were still trying to decide. Heading through the 2012 primary season, UNH’s polling found this “undecided” bloc made up a majority of likely voters until December 2011, just a month before the primary.
