{mosads}The news underscores how difficult it could prove for Perry to climb out of the hole created by a series of shaky debate performances, coupled with bruising news about an offensively-named family hunting lodge and his repeated criticism of Social Security.
But the Perry campaign is hoping that the Texas governor’s new economic plan — which would allow Americans to opt in to a 20 percent flat income tax — will help regain some momentum. Perry also continues to be toward the top of the field in one of the most important categories — cash on hand.
The Times/CBS poll also held troubling news for another former Republican front-runner: Michele Bachmann drew only 2 percent of those surveyed. Bachmann too is struggling to regain a foothold after her paid New Hampshire staff resigned en masse last Friday.
But the survey results also suggest that the GOP race remains fluid. Nearly eight in 10 primary voters say it is too early to say definitively who they will support, and only four in 10 say they’ve been paying close attention to the campaign. Still, voters seem fairly satisfied with the Republican options — only one in 10 say they would like to see someone who has not already declared their candidacy nominated.