InsiderAdvantage Florida poll and NYT/CBS National poll

The two most recent polls (as far as i know) have been a poll of just Florida by InsiderAdvantage and a national poll by The New York Times and CBS.

The Florida results, again taken before the latest debate, showed Newt in third place. 21.1% of the respondents were undecided.

The NYT/CBS poll, which was partially conducted before the debate as well as after, show Newt tied for third with Michelle Bachmann, with 22% undecided.

The Florida poll did not ask (or at least the results are not on the above link), but the national poll asked how committed those asked were to their candidate of choice. What the numbers show is that the support for both Romney and Perry is anything but firm, with Perry having an edge over the former Massachusetts Governor. But combined with the undecideds totaling about a a fifth of the electorate, there is clearly plenty of room for Newt to gain should he and his campaign keep the momentum going. (That also does not the supporters of candidates who may end up dropping out of the race.)

What's clear from these two polls and others from the past week: Newt is moving up, either tied or leading Bachmann in each. And that while Perry and Romney are leading at this moment -- just as Bachmann was a month ago and Donald Trump was five months ago -- they are not locked in by any means.

And of course, with the better poll numbers, more people will step forward to give money to Newt 2012 or give their time. Which, in turn, will drive up the numbers. Which will lead to more contributions and volunteers. Which...well, you get the idea.

Tom Beaumont interviews Joe Gaylord about possible Gingrich candidacy; NYT: no announcement speech, just Q&A session

On the Des Moines Register website, Beaumont asked Gaylord, who is Newt's senior political adviser -- and "a Des Moines native who has been Gingrich’s top strategist for 20 years" -- about the news of starting an exploratory committee.

Gaylord said the development will allow Gingrich, who has said he would announce his plans in the coming days, to raise money, conduct polling and hire staff to be dispatched to early nominating states, including Iowa.

Iowa’s precinct caucuses are expected to start the 2012 Republican presidential nominating sequence in less than a year.

The New York Times has another detail:

Mr. Gingrich is not preparing to deliver an announcement speech – that, aides said, will likely come later – but he will hold a question-and-answer session with reporters. He is not expected to file paperwork immediately, but rather announce plans to do so in the coming weeks.

NYT: "A New Newt"

The New York Times wrote an interesting story about Newt's "reintroduction" to many conservative voters whereby he talks more openly about his faith now than he has in the past.

While it is worth reading the whole article, here is a couple of snippets:

Rival Republicans marvel at his deep well of ideas, his innate intellect and his knowledge of government. They also point to the strategic approach taken by the Gingrich team in the 2010 elections, including holding training sessions for a new generation of elected officials. He has secured important endorsements, including one from the new majority leader of the Iowa House, who has been courted by all potential presidential candidates.

Dr. Jack Willke, an early leader in the anti-abortion movement in Ohio and across the country, was among those waiting for an autograph. Dr. Willke said he was delighted that Mr. Gingrich had increased the role of faith in his public appearances, something that he said he did not recall during Mr. Gingrich’s tenure as speaker of the House.

'We were there long before he was,' Mr. Willke said. 'It was never a big public thing for Newt, but he’s surfaced now as considerably more so.'

As Dr. Willke and his wife, Barbara, mingled with others in the crowd, Mrs. Willke said she was delighted to read about Mr. Gingrich’s baptism as a Catholic in March 2009. When one woman asked about his conversion, Mrs. Willke replied: 'His Catholicism certainly sounds legit, and even more so since Callista is in the picture now.'

Quick Hits

MFrom the New York Times:

Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, is one of the biggest variables. Mr. Gingrich has not been openly buttonholing major donors for a presidential bid, fund-raisers said. Nevertheless, all the work he has been doing for his policy center, American Solutions, generating large contributions (the group is permitted to take in donations of unlimited size) and building donor lists, could form a strong financial foundation for a run.

From National Journal:

On NBC's 'Meet the Press,' former House GOP Speaker Newt Gingrich said that he would make a decision about running 'around February,' and that if he did decide to seek the presidency he would probably announce in 'late March.' Gingrich said he expected a full Republican field of 12 to 15 candidates, and he predicted 'you will not know who the (GOP) nominee is until very late in the spring of 2012.' Gingrich added that President Obama remains personally popular and that he would not be easy to defeat. 'This president has enormous capacity' to recover politically, said Gingrich. He cautioned that Obama 'is not beaten.'