Mitt Romney has opened up a 9-point lead on Newt Gingrich in a new Florida poll, released just four days before the state’s GOP primary.

The former Massachusetts governor now has 38% support from likely GOP voters, compared with 29% for Gingrich, in the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute survey.

Ron Paul has 14% support and Rick Santorum has 12% in the poll taken Tuesday through Thursday.

Romney was leading Gingrich by only 2 points in the Quinnipiac poll earlier this week, which was taken after the former House speaker’s resounding victory in the South Carolina primary.

One caution: The latest poll shows three in 10 likely GOP voters could still change their minds before Tuesday’s primary.

Gingrich’s momentum “appears to have stalled” and Romney “seems to be pulling away in Florida,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the polling institute.

The survey shows Romney has higher favorability ratings in Florida than Gingrich (61% vs. 50%).

Quinnipiac surveyed 580 likely GOP voters. That’s a key point because the Florida primary is closed, meaning only voters who have registered Republican can vote in the primary. The margin of error is +/-4.1 percentage points.

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