Republican presidential candidates Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney are tied among voters who identify themselves as Republicans in Michigan, according to an American Research Group (ARG) poll released Friday.
The ARG poll shows Mr. Santorum and Mr. Romney are tied at 35 percent each among “self-identified” Republican voters in Michigan.
However, Mr. Santorum did finish the poll leading Mr. Romney with 37 percent of the overall votes, trailed by Mr. Romney at 32 percent.
Texas congressman Ron Paul finished the poll in third place with 15 percent, trailed by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at 10 percent of the votes.
“Santorum has gained 4 percentage points since a similar survey conducted February 11-12, 2012, Romney has gained 5 percentage points, and Gingrich has lost 11 percentage points since the last survey,” wrote the ARG pollsters in a press release Friday.
Mr. Romney and Mr. Santorum have been aggressively courting voters in Michigan over the last week, with Mr. Santorum focusing on his social conservative appeal and Mr. Romney playing up his ties to the state where he was born and raised.
Michigan Republican Governor Rick Snyder endorsed Mr. Romney Thursday with an op-ed article in The Detroit News.
“I hope all Michiganians will join me in supporting the candidacy of this favorite son of our great state,” wrote Mr. Snyder Thursday.
However, Mr. Romney has found it difficult to appeal to “Michiganians,” given his opposition to the bailout from the Bush administration that helped many factory workers keep their jobs in Michigan. The former Massachusetts governor has also been critical of the auto industry bailout from the Obama administration.
The ARG poll results show that Santorum supporters are firmly supportive of their candidate, while Romney supporters could possibly be swayed to vote for another candidate, or may not vote at all.
Among voters in the poll stating that they will “definitely” vote in the upcoming Michigan primary, Mr. Santorum leads Mr. Romney 38-30 percent. Voters stating that they will “probably” vote in the Michigan primary favor Mr. Romney over Mr. Santorum 40-32 percent.
Mr. Romney’s campaign also received shocking news Friday about the upcoming primary election in Ohio. Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced that he was switching his endorsement from Mr. Romney to Mr. Santorum, during a campaign appearance with Mr. Santorum in Ohio.
The ARG poll was conducted among 600 likely Republican primary voters in Michigan between February 15th and February 16th with a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
