A newly released poll finds former Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Rick Santorum surging ahead of his Republican rival, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.
The latest Gallup daily tracking rolling average, conducted between February 15 and 19, show Mr. Santorum leading Mr. Romney 36 percent to 26 percent, Mr. Santorum’s largest lead yet.
The poll comes as the Pennsylvania Republican has sought to increase his national profile in recent weeks, traveling to a number of key states ahead of a string of primaries at the end of this month. Recent polls show Mr. Santorum and Mr. Romney tied in the state of Michigan, Mr. Romney’s home state.
Meanwhile, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Congressman Ron Paul remain well behind in the national tracking poll of registered Republican voters at 13 percent and 11 percent, respectively. Mr. Gingrich’s current 13 percent support ties his lowest since Gallup began tracking December 1; the Georgia Republican held a one-point lead over Mr. Romney as recently as the end of last month.
Prior to Mr. Santorum’s surge, Mr. Romney led 37 percent to 16 percent in Gallup Daily tracking ending February 6, the day before Mr. Santorum won primaries and caucuses in Minnesota, Missouri, and Colorado.
Gallup pollsters noted Mr. Santorum’s conservative message seems to have found a base of support, even as Republican voters still view Mr. Romney as the most electable candidate.
“Republican support for Santorum is clearly based on more than just electability, given that Republicans generally favor Santorum for the nomination while holding the belief that Romney is the most electable candidate,” the polling company said in a statement. “Overall, almost 3 in 10 Republicans in the USA Today/Gallup survey who believe that Romney has the best chance of beating Obama still say they would vote for Santorum over Romney. By contrast, 88 percent of Republicans who say Santorum has the best chance of beating Obama support him over Romney for the GOP nomination.”
