Perry for President? Not so fast, here comes The Herminator

Herman Cain, the Republican presidential hopeful is leading the pack, according to the results of a new Zogby poll released on Tuesday. This is a dramatic change from Perry's otherwise distant lead among the pack of contenders. 

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The poll was taken after last Thursday night's debate and just before the Florida straw poll, which Cain also won. 

The win is significant for Cain who has been polling below 10 percent throughout the race. 
Meanwhile, Texas Governor, Rick Perry has been dropping steadily. 

In the last three debates, Perry has been a prime target for the other contenders, and much of the discussion has focused on himself, and his closest challenger, Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. Michelle Bachmann, who was an early favorite has dropped to relative obscurity at the bottom of the group with most of the other contenders. 

Still solid, polling around 11 percent, is Ron Paul. Paul appears to have a solid base of support, but he seems to have difficulty winning over new supporters. 

Mitt Romney came in just one point under Perry. Perry's result was 18 percent and Romney 17 percent. Perry originally polled at a high of 41 percent. He may be losing ground because his challengers have made specific, pointed attacks, which he has not answered in a manner that pleases conservatives. 

Specifically, Perry has lost ground on the immigration debate after it was mentioned that he supported a bill that gave tuition breaks to illegal immigrants who wanted to attend college in Texas.  He has also been criticized for his position on Social Security which he infamously referred to as a "ponzi scheme" and Bachmann his attacked his decree mandating that schoolgirls in Texas be given vaccinations against HPV. 

Cain, however, has been a solid performer both during debates and in the polls. His Zogby poll results regularly place him third or even second amongst Republican voters. The most recent result is the first time he has taken a discernable lead in polling.

While many may have called the race for Perry a long time ago, recent developments may suggest that any such decrees are woefully premature, at best. 

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