Rick Perry Is A Leader Who Can Beat Obama, HuffPost-Patch GOP Power Outsiders Say

Gov. Rick Perry's strong first impression on Republicans extends to some of the most politically engaged GOP activists in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, according to a survey conducted this week by The Huffington Post and Patch in the early primary and caucus states.

This week, our HuffPost-Patch Power Outsiders poll of 159 political activists, party officials and officeholders in the early primary and caucus states focused on the Texas governor. The survey does not look at a wide swath of Republicans, but rather attempts to listen to the "invisible primary" among influential local activists and political insiders that has historically driven nomination campaigns. We heard from 36 of them in Iowa, 52 in New Hampshire and 71 in South Carolina this week.

We found these influential local Republicans to be impressed with Perry in three specific areas. Roughly three out of four describe Perry as someone who takes stands they agree with (75 percent), is ready to be president (77 percent) and can beat Obama in the general election (76 percent). Only a small handful (14 percent on each of the three questions) say these phrases do not describe Perry well.

Power Outsiders is a Patch-Huffington Post project that surveys influential Republicans in the early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. Details on responses about Perry and a full list of participants can be found here.