Herman Cain, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich lead the GOP field in an early-Friday CBS News poll, as the majority of Republicans say the sexual harassment allegations against Cain do not make them less likely to support him.
Cain leads the field with 18 percent of GOP primary voters supporting him, putting Cain three points ahead of Romney and Gingrich at 15 percent each, as Gingrich has climbed into the top tier of GOP candidates. Cain's modest lead is well within the poll's margin of error of +/- 5 percent, and it represents a decline in his support from the previous poll, conducted late last month, when the former Godfather's Pizza CEO was at 25 percent.
Support for former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has also slipped slightly, dropping six points from last month. Gingrich's support is five points higher than last month.
Asked whether the allegations against Cain would affect their vote, 30 percent of GOP primary voters say they would be less likely to vote for him. But 61 percent say it would not make a difference in their vote.
CBS announced the results of the poll on Friday's "Early Show," one day before Saturday's National Journal/CBS News foreign policy debate, which will air on the network at 8 p.m. EST.
"It's great to be back in contention," Gingrich said of the poll results on The Early Show. The CBS News poll was conducted Nov. 6-10, surveying 382 GOP primary voters.
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