Can anyone stop Ron Paul from winning Iowa?

With less than a week to go before the critical caucuses, the Texas libertarian leads in the polls, and may be poised for an upset victory

Ron Paul
(Image credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

The Iowa caucuses may very well be Ron Paul's to lose. Six days before the GOP presidential nomination contest officially begins with the critical Jan. 3 caucuses, a new Public Policy Polling survey shows the Texas libertarian maintaining his pole position. Despite a host of bad publicity over controversial newsletters from the 1980s and 1990s that resurfaced last week, Rep. Paul (R-Texas) leads former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney 24 percent to 20 percent, and Romney's favorability ratings have dipped sharply. Fighting for third place are Newt Gingrich (13 percent), Michele Bachmann (11 percent), Rick Perry (10 percent), and Rick Santorum (10 percent). Will Paul really win Iowa?

Paul has it in the bag: The Texan has the edge where it counts, says Stephen C. Webster at Raw Story. He has a "broad coalition" of supporters, but more importantly, he has the edge over Romney "when it comes to how committed his supporters are." Seventy-seven percent of Paul's supporters are "firmly committed," compared to 71 percent of Romney's. And when it comes to "the most crucial campaign metric," favorability rating, Paul has the momentum. For the first time in three months, Romney's favorability rating has dropped. The moral of the story: Ron Paul is "poised to win" Iowa.

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