Polls Show Palin Retains Support

5132045 Since the moment Sarah Palin announced Friday that she is resigning as governor of Alaska, rumors have been circulating about her future. Her options may well be wide open: According to new polls, Palin's unorthodox move doesn't seemed to have significantly diminished enthusiasm for her amongst Republicans nationwide.

A new USA Today/Gallup poll shows that 19 percent of Americans are very likely to vote for Palin for president in 2012. A whopping 72 percent of Republicans think it is at least somewhat likely that they will vote for her should she run.

"For independents and Democrats, she's already not their candidate, and with Republicans her support is not based on her record as governor of Alaska," GOP consultant Alex Castellanos told USA Today.

A new Rasmussen poll, meanwhile, finds that Palin and Mitt Romney would be the top candidates in a Republican president primary. Palin garners 24 percent of the vote while Romney takes 25 percent.

The poll also shows, however, that 21 percent of national Republican voters say that Palin is the candidate they would least likely see as the 2012 GOP nominee.

"Conservative Republicans are the least fazed by Palin's decision to resign," the poll authors note. "Just 37% think she's hurt her chances of winning the nomination, compared to 52% of moderate Republicans."

While Palin's resignation has garnered headlines, the USA Today/Gallup poll found that 70 percent of Americans have not changed their views on the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee. The Rasmussen poll finds that 76 percent of Republican voters still hold a favorable view of the governor, as opposed to the 21 percent that view her unfavorably.

According to another new Rasmussen poll, 40 percent of Republican voters believe that Palin has hurt her chances of winning the nomination in 2012 while 24 percent think that her resignation will help her bid.

"In general, the higher a Republican voter's income level and educational achievement, the more likely he or she is to think Palin's decision to resign will hurt her bid for the GOP nomination," the poll reports.

While Palin hasn't officially announced any of her future plans, 61 percent of Republican voters think that it is at least somewhat likely that she will run for president, the Rasmussen poll finds.