Poll: Lack of Endorsements Leaves GOP Field Open?

With fewer than 80 days remaining until South Carolinians head to the polls to help choose the Republican candidate to battle President Barack Obama, nearly 80 percent of influential conservatives have yet to publicly endorse a candidate.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney remains the odds-on favorite to win the Republican nomination behind balanced support nationally.

But in this week's Huffington Post/ Patch Power Outsiders polls, conservatives appear to be leaving their options open. Only 31 percent of respondents in the four early primary/ caucus states have chosen which candidate to endorse. Those endorsements are split between Romney (26 percent), Texas Gov. Rick Perry (26 percent), Rep. Ron Paul (11 percent), former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman (11 percent) and Georgia businessman Herman Cain (9 percent).

In South Carolina, even fewer influential conservatives have committed. Only 20 percent said they had publicly committed, with Perry holding a small lead among those who answered this week's questions. About half of those who had not committed said they were unsure of where their vote would go.

Contrast that with the most-recent poll from Rasmussen, which found only 10 percent of likely GOP primary voters were undecided. In Tuesday's polling, 33 percent of Republican voters said they planned to support Cain, while 23 percent said they would back Romney.