Herman Cain, welcome to the top tier, at least in Virginia:
Businessman Herman Cain ties former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney as the leading choice of Virginia Republicans for their presidential nomination with 21 percent each, followed by Texas Gov. Rick Perry with 11 percent, less than half his showing a month ago when he had led the pack, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. President Barack Obama’s job approval and re-election numbers remain seriously under water in Virginia, although he is in a statistical tie with Romney and Cain, while holding a narrow lead over Perry, in general election matchups, the independent Quinnipiac University poll finds. In Virginia’s U.S. Senate race, Tim Kaine and George Allen are too close to call, with 44 percent for the Republican Allen and 45 percent for the Democrat Kaine. There has not been more than a 1 percent difference between them in any of Quinnipiac University’s three surveys so far this year.
Quinnipiac also shows that 52 percent of Republicans describe themselves as “more enthusiastic than usual” about voting in the 2012 presidential election; 10 percent describe themselves as “less enthusiastic than usual,” and 35 percent about the same. Among Democrats, only 26 percent are “more enthusiastic,” 25 percent “less enthusiastic,” and 49 percent “about the same.” Among independents, it splits 28 percent “more enthusiastic,” 24 percent “less enthusiastic,” and 47 percent “about the same.”