Mike Huckabee Leads Potential 2012 Rivals In New Wall Street Journal/NBC News Poll

Mike Huckabee continues to edge out his potential 2012 rivals, according to a new poll.

The Wall Street Journal/NBC News survey released Wednesday night showed Huckabee winning 25 percent of likely Republican voters, followed closely by Mitt Romney at 21 percent. Newt Gingrich garners 13 percent of the vote and Sarah Palin 12 percent, according to the poll, but no other GOP hopeful tops single-digits.

Huckabee has performed well in numerous state and national polls in recent months.

President Barack Obama continues to be well-positioned against his potential GOP rivals, leading Romney 49 percent to 40 percent. Forty-eight percent of voters nationally approve of the president's performance, and 46 percent disapprove.

And in a good sign for Mitch Daniels, nearly two-thirds of likely GOP primary voters say they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who focuses the party on economic issues instead of social issues. Daniels has been criticized by many conservatives for calling for that kind of social-issues "truce."

The poll has a sampling error of plus or minus 3.1 percent.