Politics | Ron Paul Sorry, Ron Paul Fans, Romney Is No. 1 No matter what the Rasmussen poll says By John Johnson Posted Apr 14, 2010 5:13 PM CDT Copied In this March 30, 2010, file photo, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks during an appearance at Emory University in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File) Don't believe everything you read, Ron Paul devotees: Your man isn't the Republican most likely to knock off President Obama in 2012. Nate Silver takes issue with a new Rasmussen poll to that effect, cites Rasmussen's "Republican-leaning house effect," and (while acknowledging the silliness at this early date) crunches his own numbers from several polls. His current leader of the pack: Mitt Romney. In a one-to-one matchup against Obama, Romney falls just 5.6 points behind the president, Silver writes at FiveThirtyEight. He's followed by Mike Huckabee (6.6), Paul (9.9), Newt Gingrich (12.2), Jeb Bush (13.4), and Sarah Palin (14.4). The only candidate who actually comes out ahead of Obama is someone named "Generic Republican." Read These Next New workplace jargon: 'job hugging.' An NFL rule change has opened up an interesting strategy She didn't get her 10 wings, so she caused $10K in damage. Suspect arrested near Lionel Richie's home. Report an error