Some points:
1) I'm not surprised Perry is doing better, both in terms of favorability and in terms of head-to-head, in the South. Still, Romney is nearly underwater with McCain voters and is underwater among moderates (though not as much so as Perry), somewhat conservatives, and very conservatives. Ouch.
2)
This was a safe Republican state up until 2008, the fact that Romney or Perry can't manage even a very small lead means that's it's now a purple state.
This, even if many of the undecideds are going to go Republican next year.
3)
I think one of the main reasons the Republican establishment is reluctant to support Perry is because Romney is regarded as more electable (even though Mitt hasn’t really won that many elections at all). That might change if more opinion polls shows that Perry can defeat Obama in states that will be important for the GOP come 2012.
I suppose, but if electability in North Carolina matters, then Obama has almost certainly won Virginia and that's the ballgame. Romney's electability argument is that he is better in states which actually could decide the election (right now, those being VA/NH, maybe PA/NV/CO).
