Another Iowa Poll Shows Romney Now Leading; Santorum Rising; Perry Quietly Moving Up; Gingrich Falling; Bachmann Crashing – 12/30/11

A new Marist / NBC News poll in Iowa confirms what other polls this week have been showing – that the GOP Presidential race for the Iowa Caucuses is extremely tight.

The poll finds Mitt Romney clinging to a two-point lead over Ron Paul, 23%-21%, with Rick Santorum now in third place at 15%. Very quietly, Rick Perry has moved up to 14%, with Newt Gingrich now falling to fifth place at 13%.

Michele Bachmann’s numbers have plummeted, falling all the way down to just 6% support, which the Romney Campaign is said to fear could mean an even stronger surge for Rick Santorum. It will be interesting to see if that comes to pass. It’s also interesting that no one is talking about Rick Perry, but he is quietly rising as well, only one-point behind Santorum in this poll – though Santorum is getting all the attention.

In the 7-day average of polls in Iowa, Mitt Romney now holds a 1.4 point lead over Ron Paul.