Newt Gingrich is widening his lead among the GOP presidential field, according to two new public opinion polls out today.

The Washington Post/ABC News survey in Iowa shows Gingrich commanding 33% support among likely GOP caucusgoers — well ahead of Mitt Romney and Ron Paul who are at 15%. Those findings come on the heels of similar findings by the Des Moines Register’s Iowa Poll and the NBC/Marist Poll.

In another key early voting state, the former House speaker leads Romney by nearly 17 percentage points in a new South Carolina poll by Winthrop University. Texas Gov. Rick Perry is well behind in third place.

Gingrich’s surge as the new leader for the GOP presidential nomination, however, has its drawbacks. Various news reports out today highlight the need for Gingrich to overcome fundraising hurdles (see The New York Times) and quiet concerns among some Republicans about his leadership (The Hill, Wall Street Journal, others).

Gingrich, who was in New York City yesterday for a fundraiser and a meeting with Donald Trump, lags Romney and Perry in the money game. Through the end of September, he had raised about $2.9 million and had about $353,000 in the bank, plus $1.1 million in debts, according to his campaign finance reports.

By comparison, Romney raised $32.2 million through the end of September and socked away about $14.7 million — with zero debts.

Then, there are quotes like this one from Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, a leading conservative. Coburn, a member of the 1994 Republican Revolution class in the House that helped sweep Gingrich into power, said Sunday he found the former speaker’s leadership “lacking, oftentimes.”

(Source: USA Today)