Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum has taken a commanding lead among Republican voters nationwide, according to a new poll released Wednesday.
The Quinnipiac University poll results show Mr. Santorum leading the field with 35 percent, trailed by rival candidate Mitt Romney at 26 percent. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich finished in third with 14 percent, followed by Texas congressman Ron Paul at 11 percent.
“Sen. Rick Santorum’s lead among Republican voters and GOP-leaning independents is built on the votes of Republican men, Tea Party supporters and white evangelical Christians,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. “Santorum is riding the momentum wave from his trifecta of victories in Missouri, Colorado and Minnesota, but so far this year momentum from one week has been a much-overhyped asset by the time the next round of voting comes along.”
Additionally the new poll shows that 48 percent of Republican voters nationwide are opposed to the idea of a brokered convention, while 37 percent are in favor of one.
All of the remaining candidates have pledged to stay in the race through the Republican National Convention in August. Momentum in the primary race has constantly fluctuated up and down, seemingly with a new front-runner every other week at times, so a brokered convention is definitely a realistic possibility.
The poll also surveyed voters as to who they would want to see pick up the nomination at the convention, if it was not one of the remaining candidates.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is the top choice in that category as he finished with 32 percent of the votes, trailed by former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush tied at 20 percent. Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels finished with 15 percent. Mr. Daniels and Mr. Christie recently reiterated their thoughts on running, stating that they are not interested in winning the Republican nomination.
Ms. Palin recently stated on Fox News that she was not done pursuing a public office, and Mr. Bush has consistently downplayed rumors that he could win the nomination at the convention this summer.
“Gov. Chris Christie remains the knight on the white horse in many Republican minds,” said Mr. Brown.
The Quinnipiac poll was conducted between February 14th and February 20th among 2,605 registered voters nationwide, with a margin of error of plus or minus 1.9 percentage points.
The nationally televised presidential debate in Arizona will be crucial for all of the remaining candidates. Mr. Santorum will look to further his national surge, while Mr. Romney will look to regain momentum in the race that he lost after Mr. Santorum’s three primary victories in one night two weeks ago.
In contrast, Mr. Paul and Mr. Gingrich will be looking to have big performances in the debate tonight to try and sway some undecided voters their way.
