Perry in Early Lead

Scott Rasmussen of Rasmussen Reports finds, in a poll of likely Republican primary voters, that Texas Governor Rick Perry is in the lead with 29%, followed by Mitt Romney with 18% and Michele Bachmann with 13%. All other candidates are in single digits.

That is an impressive start for Perry. Essentially no effort on his part has resulted in a double digit lead over Romney, who by all accounts was the front-runner until Perry entered the race.

It will be interesting to see if Perry's lead holds up. I expect to see several of the also-rans drop out of the competition over the next several months. As that happens, their supporters will decide which of the leaders to support.