Romney leading several polls ahead of debate

As Republicans prepare to debate in Massachusetts Monday night, new polls show one thing is clear: Mitt Romney is the leader of the pack.

Several new polls show Romney with a strong lead among Republican voters, Fox News reports. And it's a lead stronger than previous surveys, indicating a rise in popularity since he officially announced his candidacy for president.

The latest Fox News poll shows Romney as No. 1 in a long string of potential GOP nominees, with 23 percent of Republican voters choosing him. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani came in second with 13 percent, ahead of Fox News contributor Sarah Palin with 12 percent.

But according to the Fox News poll, voters also, by a large margin - 68 percent -- consider Romney to be the most qualified candidate for president.

A new USA Today/Gallup poll shows that in the last month Romney's support has seen a boost, moving to 24 percent, up from 17 percent since May.

No other candidate saw any significant increase in support within the last month, except for Rick Santorum, who saw a slight increase from 2 percent to 6 percent.

Romney will participate Monday night in a 2012 election debate with other GOP hopefuls and candidates, including Newt Gingrich and Michele Bachmann, who has still to announce a run.