Fans of Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul will rejoice upon hearing the following news: Congressman Paul (R-TX) has defeated President Barack Obama in a Rasmussen Reports daily presidential tracking poll of general election voters released Monday. This is the first time that Mr. Paul has bested Mr. Obama in a Rasmussen Reports poll. Mr. Paul garnered 43 percent of the votes among general election voters and Mr. Obama pulled 41 percent of the votes.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney also bested Mr. Obama. The Bain Capital co-founder earned 45 percent of the votes and the former Illinois senator brought in 43 percent of the votes. This is the first time since December 2011 that Mr. Romney has led Mr. Obama in a Rasmussen Reports daily presidential tracking poll.

While Mr. Paul and Mr. Romney are now favored over Mr. Obama in a general election, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich trail the president. Mr. Santorum lost to Mr. Obama by 2 percentage points and Mr. Gingrich fell to the president by 10 percentage points.

While Mr. Paul trails the Pennsylvania Republican and the Michigan native in the upcoming elections in Michigan and Arizona, the Texas congressman’s victory over Mr. Obama adds to his electability. The Rasmussen Reports poll, which included Republicans, Democrats and Independents, suggests that Mr. Paul appeals to a wide range of voters.

As Mr. Paul deals with the growing number of voices who believe that he is in collusion with Mr. Romney, this poll is an indication that the former Air Force surgeon may be a Republican front-runner.

Regardless of the outcomes of the upcoming elections, Mr. Paul has vowed to stay in the race until the Republican convention in August. Mr. Paul’s ability to defeat Obama nationally, however, may convince more voters to support him in the primaries and caucuses.

Rasmussen Reports interviewed 1,500 likely general election voters. The poll is reported on a three-day rolling average basis. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

http://www.thestatecolumn.com/articles/2012/02/28/poll-ron-paul-bests-obama-for-the-first-time-nationally/