Romney, the current national frontrunner, does the best of a lineup of five Republicans, but Iowa voters prefer Obama, 49 percent to 40 percent, according to a Public Policy Polling survey released today.

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Iowa voters asked if the candidates for president next year were Obama and Tim Pawlenty, a former governor of Minnesota, picked the Democrat by a 12-point margin, 49 percent to 37 percent.

After Romney and Pawlenty, retired Georgia businessman Herman Cain fares the best, but trails trails Obama by 18 points, 50-32.

Cain is followed by Alaska’s Sarah Palin, who falls 20 points behind Obama, 55 percent to 35 percent, then Georgia’s Newt Gingrich, a former U.S. speaker, who is 21 points down at 54 percent to 33 percent, the survey found.