Herman Cain tops Mitt Romney for president in 2012 among GOP voters: poll

BY Aliyah Shahid, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Tea Party favorite Herman Cain is steamrolling his way to the top.

The Republican presidential candidate has surpassed former frontrunner Mitt Romney among GOP voters, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.

According to the survey, the ex-Pizza business magnate is the No.1 choice among 27% of Republicans compared to 23% for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry plummeted to third place, dropping to 16% from 38% in August.

While the survey of 336 voters has a margin of error of 5.35 percentage points, it's the second poll this week showing Cain on top.

According to a survey by Public Policy Polling, Cain leads Romney 30% to 22%. That survey has a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points.

Both polls were taken before Tuesday night's Republican presidential debate, in which Cain's GOP competition blasted his 9-9-9 tax plan to solve the country's economic woes.

Cain, who has never held elected office, says he would scrap the progressive federal income tax in favor of a 9% flat income tax for all Americans.

The plan would also slash the corporate tax rate to 9% - big corporations are currently taxed at 35%. And it would introduce a new 9% national sales tax - an addition to the state or city sales taxes that Americans already pay.

Critics say the plan would punish the lower class and would raise less money than the current tax code.

But in follow-up interviews, voters who supported Cain told MSNBC that part of the ex-talk radio show host's appeal - unlike his competition - is that he isn't a career politician.

"He has common sense answers and is in touch with the heartbeat of America," said one.

"Cain gives direct answers. He is succinct. He isn't a politician," added another.