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Keller @ Large: Cain, Christie Rising In Popularity Among GOP Voters

BOSTON (CBS) - In the struggle to find who will challenge President Obama, a growing number of Republicans think it should be Herman Cain or Chris Christie, instead of current frontrunners Mitt Romney or Texas Governor Rick Perry.

Tax-reforming businessman Cain won the Florida straw poll, and just tied Romney in a statewide poll.

This week New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was begged by a California audience to jump into the race.

WBZ-TV's Jon Keller Is At Large

To understand why these candidates are so attractive, you have to look at the times we're living in.

Republicans haven't been this anxious and angry about the status quo in a long time, and so far, many are not ready to settle for either of the big-name, big-budget frontrunners.

Perhaps many voters aren't looking for vanilla.

Cain isn't vanilla, and his 9-9-9 plan for simplifying the tax code seems to appeal to conservatives.

And Christie's Jersey persona is the opposite of Romney's smooth talk.

So Romney has got his work cut out for him, as does Perry who still leads in most national polls, but has suffered from lackluster debate performances.

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