Gallup Poll: Romney, Palin Early GOP Front Runners

A new Gallup poll on Thursday found that Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin are the early favorites for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.

According to the poll, 19 percent would support Romney in a primary, followed by 16 percent who would support former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee garned 12 percent of the votes.

But those weren't the only names mentioned. According to the poll, "in addition to the 12 named candidates, 1% of respondents volunteered the name of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie."

However, an MSNBC/WSJ poll reveals that Romney is starting out in a weaker position than similar front runners in years past:

But if Romney is the front-runner, he’s starting out at a much weaker position than Bob Dole or John McCain ever did at this point in the ’96 and ’08 cycles. According to our latest NBC/WSJ poll, Romney’s national fav/unfav is upside down at 21%-30%, compared with Dole’s net-positive 38%-25% in Sept. ’94 and McCain’s 40%-16% in June ’06. Intensity is a problem, too, for Romney. Just 6% view him VERY positively, versus 14% for Dole in ’94 and 11% for McCain in ’06.

That poll also shows that Republicans have a less favorable view of Romney than they did of Dole or McCain at this point:

His fav/unfav among GOPers and conservatives is, respectively, 38%-17% and 30%-19%. For Dole in ’94, it was 65%-9% and 58%-14%. And for McCain in ’06, it was 47%-16% and 40%-17%.