Santorum Beats Romney by 8 Points in Nationwide Poll
Rick Santorum is now leading the Republican presidential field in a nationwide poll, with Mitt Romney trailing by an eight-point margin, according to Gallup's daily tracking poll released Sunday.
The new numbers show former Pennsylvania Sen. Santorum having the backing of 36 percent of GOP voters, in comparison with 28 percent of support for former Massachusetts Gov. Romney. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich stands at third with 13 percent support, and Texas Rep. Ron Paul with 11 percent.
The survey of 1,187 Republicans and Republican-leaning independents by telephone was conducted Tuesday through Saturday. The results of the survey, with a sampling error of +/- 3 percentage points, show that Romney's attack on Santorum cut no ice with GOP voters.
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A little over a week ago, Romney had questioned Santorum's conservative credentials. Campaigning in Colorado, Romney said Santorum and Gingrich are "the very Republicans who acted like Democrats." He also sought to downplay threat from his two rivals, saying, "In Newt Gingrich's case, he had to resign. In Rick Santorum's case, he lost by the biggest margin of any Senate incumbent since 1980."
Santorum hit back saying Romney's criticism merely showed his desperation in the face of declining support. "I mean, for him to suggest that I'm not the conservative in this race, you reach a point where desperate people do desperate things," Santorum retorted.
Romney's front-runner status has been under threat since he lost the Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri caucuses to Santorum in early February. Santorum and Romney are now preparing for the Feb. 28 primary in Michigan – Romney's home turf.
The Gallup poll also shows Romney and President Barack Obama tied at 48 percent each in a hypothetical matchup. And Obama would be the choice of 53 percent of voters with Gingrich, who would be preferred by 41 percent of voters, the results indicate. Although Santorum is surging in polls, Gallup chose not to release numbers for a hypothetical Santorum-Obama matchup.
Santorum, a devout Catholic, took aim at Obama's policies Saturday. The president's agenda, he said, is "not about you. It's not about your quality of life. It's not about your jobs." Speaking to tea party activists and evangelicals in Columbus, Ohio, the former senator added, "It's about some phony ideal. Some phony theology. Oh, not a theology based on the Bible. A different theology."
The former Pennsylvania senator is leading in polls in Ohio – the "ground zero" for his campaign. Ohio's presidential primary is on March 6, when 10 states will hold nomination polls. The Republican presidential nomination contest will go on until late August, unless candidates drop out earlier.
