Romney and Cain tied in new CNN 2012 poll

Mitt Romney and Herman Cain are virtually tied for the lead in the Republican presidential race.

A new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll of GOP voters finds Romney leading Cain by just 1 point—26 percent to 25 percent—well within the poll's 3 percent margin of error. That's a 14-point jump for Cain since the last poll taken three weeks ago.

Rick Perry trails in third place, with 13 percent support, followed by Ron Paul (9 percent), Newt Gingrich (8 percent), Michele Bachmann (6 percent), Rick Santorum (2 percent) and Jon Huntsman (1 percent). Five percent of those polled said they prefer "none" of the candidates, while 4 percent had "no opinion."

In a sign of how fluid the race still is, 67 percent of those polled said still they might change their mind.

But what's interesting is the breakdown of who is supporting Cain vs. Romney.

According to the poll, the former Godfather's Pizza chief leads Romney among men (30 percent to 25 percent); voters between 51 and 64 (31 percent to 22 percent) and respondents who reported making more than $50,000 a year (32 percent to 27 percent). Cain also has a 4-point lead over Romney among self-described "conservative" voters (28 percent to 24 percent) and independents (29 percent to 25 percent).

In the most dangerous sign for Romney, the poll finds the ex-governor trailing among voters in the south. According to the poll, Cain leads in the region with 28 percent support, followed by Perry (20 percent), Gingrich (14 percent), Romney (11 percent) and Ron Paul (10 percent).