Romney, Gingrich in dead heat for GOP nod

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- The latest CNN/ORC International Poll Monday put Newt Gingrich in a dead heat with Mitt Romney for the U.S. Republican presidential nomination.

Gingrich, the former U.S. House speaker whose campaign was given up for dead just a few months ago amid staff turmoil and stories about his bill at the high-end jeweler Tiffany's, garnered 22 percent support, compared with the former Massachusetts governor's steady 24 percent. The 2 percentage-point difference was within the poll's 4.5-point sampling error rate.

Herman Cain, dogged by allegations of sexual harassment in the last two weeks, dropped 11 points from last month to 14 percent, with 40 percent of Republicans saying the charges are a serious matter, CNN Polling Director Keating Holland said. A third said Cain should end his presidential campaign, with women feeling more strongly about the issue than men.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry was at 12 percent, down a point from the October poll and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas had 8 percent. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota was at 6 percent and Jon Huntsman, a former Utah governor and U.S. ambassador to China, was tied with former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania at 3 percent each.

Support, however, was soft with 61 percent of those queried saying they might yet change their minds.

Eight percent of the 1,036 adults in the sample were unsure with the Iowa caucuses just seven weeks away.

The CNN poll gave Romney a 4-point edge over President Barack Obama in a head-to-head match-up while Gingrich trailed Obama by 8 points.

The total sample included 480 Republicans and Republican-leaning independents and was conducted Friday through Sunday.