In new poll, Ron Paul rates with front-runners Romney and Perry

Chris Moody
·Political Reporter

In yet another sign that perhaps the news media ought to think about treating his presidential campaign more seriously, Ron Paul was viewed about as favorably as Rick Perry and Mitt Romney by Americans in a new poll.

In an Associated Press-GfK telephone survey of the general population, 37 percent of the respondents said they have a positive view of the libertarian-leaning representative from Texas, while 36 percent said they did not.

Perry, the Texas governor, and Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, invoked similar favorable/unfavorable ratings that also fell within the poll's 4.1 percent margin of error. Romney was viewed favorably by 39 percent of Americans, and Perry was viewed favorably by 33 percent.

Another 41 percent said they viewed Romney unfavorably, and 36 percent viewed Perry unfavorably.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich had the widest gap among the poll's respondents, with 57 percent viewing him unfavorably and 27 percent viewing him favorably.

A Gallup survey earlier this week showed that Paul polls within the same margin of error as Perry and Romney in a general election match-up with President Barack Obama.

The poll was conducted from August 18 to August 22 and released Friday.