Gallup: Republican Presidential Race Is Most Volatile Ever

Gallup pollsters marvel that the Republican presidential contest is the most volatile for the GOP since polling began, with four front-runners emerging and changing positions seven times since May in Gallup polling.

The phenomenal jockeying rivals only the Democrats in 2003, when six front-runners slipped into, and fell out of, the lead nine times, Gallup notes in a new report released today.

In the 2012 GOP horse race, Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, Herman Cain, and Newt Gingrich occupied the top spot at various times last year, “with Romney’s standing rising and falling as other candidates surged and faded,” Gallup’s analysis says.

Here’s the way the GOP lead has stacked up at various times, based on Gallup polls and Gallup Daily tracking last year:

May-June — Romney

July — Romney and Perry

August — Perry

October-early November — Romney and Cain, tied

Mid-November — Romney and Gingrich, tied

Early- to mid-December — Gingrich

Late December — Gingrich and Romney, tied

Toss two more names into the mix, and the race has been even more fluid, Gallup observes: “Mike Huckabee led the Republican field, or tied Romney and Sarah Palin for the lead, in Gallup polls at the start of the year; however Huckabee and Palin ultimately declined to run.”

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