Mark Blumenthal warns to not place too much faith in the most recent batch of Iowa polls.

“The coming week will bring another round of surveys that may once again reveal changes in the standings. Equally important, the state’s Republican caucuses will attract a very narrow slice of the potential electorate, historically about 3 to 5 percent of Iowa’s adult population — a group that pollsters cannot identify with precision beforehand. Most of the recent surveys depend on automated methodologies, most are missing voters who don’t have landline telephones, and all will face the challenge of reaching Iowa voters between Christmas and New Year’s, a time when many Americans are traveling away from home.”

That said, early indications from a Public Policy Polling survey currently in the field show a close race between Mitt Romney and Ron Paul with Newt Gingrich further back. It should be released later tonight.

Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire