Zogby Poll: Sarah Palin is GOP's top choice for president

*
The results of a new Zogby Poll commissioned by Newsmax indicate that Sarah Palin now leads her prospective GOP rivals as the Republican Party's preferred candidate for president:

The exclusive Newsmax Media-Zogby poll released Thursday asked likely GOP voters: "If the Republican primary for president of the United States were held today... for whom would you vote?"

The poll gave voters a selection of top tier potential candidates as well as some dark horses, the list included Scott Brown, Jeb Bush, Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin, David Petraeus, Tim Pawlenty, and Mitt Romney.

Despite the size and diversity of the field, Palin grabbed a solid 22.2 percent to take the lead with former Massachusetts Gov. Romney close behind with 19.4 percent.

Also making a strong showing was former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich with 12 percent, followed by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee at 11 percent.

A survey taken in early December by Opinion Research for CNN found Huckabee leading the Republican field of likely presidential candidates, with gov. Palin in second place.

Newsmax's David Patten attributes Sarah Palin's strong showing in the Zogby poll to her success at year's end with her book Going Rogue and her new job as a Fox News contributer as factors which are having a positive impact on her political standing. 

Democrat pollster Doug Schoen says the findings by Zogby contradict claims made by many analysts that Gov. Palin had killed her political career by resigning as Alaska's governor nearly six months ago:

"It suggests to me that reports of her political death are exaggerated," political strategist and Democratic pollster Douglas Schoen tells Newsmax. "In American political life, politicians have not only second and third lives, they have nine lives. And Sarah Palin is on her third or fourth life."

Patten says that the poll shows that, among members of her own party, Sarah Palin has overcome the many media attacks against her and continues to be a powerful political force. U.S. Congressman Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) told Newsmax that he's not surprised by Gov. Palin's strength in the new poll, but he can understand that "a few networks" might find the results surprising:

McCarthy says Palin has become the voice of an electorate increasingly frustrated with federal governance.

"She has the common sense to go out, to listen, to talk, to tell exactly how she feels from the heart," McCarthy tells Newsmax. "They can try to go out there and say whatever they want about her but she's really the voice of the people. She raises a family, she understands those challenges. … I think that's what America is looking for.

"America is not looking for a party," McCarthy says. "They're looking for a leader and those who will help change Washington."

Read the full Newsmax report here.

- JP