Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum won a Mecklenburg County Republican Party straw poll Thursday night, according to WCNC.com. Mr. Santorum, a former Republican senator from Pennsylvania, pulled in 40 percent of the votes. Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney tied for second place with 22 percent of the votes each. WCNC.com reports that 500 people participated in the Mecklenburg County GOP straw poll.
Mr. Santorum became a Republican frontrunner after winning a trio of elections on Tuesday, February 7th. First place finishes in the Missouri Republican primary and the Minnesota and Colorado Republican caucuses placed Mr. Santorum on the same stage as Mr. Romney. In fact, the former Pennsylvania senator leads the Bain Capital co-founder by 4 percentage points in the latest Gallup tracking poll.
Mr. Santorum’s victory in the Mecklenburg County straw poll illustrates the Pennsylvania Republican’s growing popularity at the state level. At the end of February, Mr. Santorum will compete against the remaining Republican candidates in the Arizona and Michigan Republican primaries. One week later, Mr. Santorum’s candidacy will be tested again as the Pennsylvania Republican faces eleven elections on Super Tuesday.
With 30 delegates at stake, Michigan is a crucial election for Mr. Santorum. A Detroit News poll found Mr. Romney trailing Mr. Santorum by 4 percentage points. Although Mr. Romney is a Michigan native, the former Massachusetts governor has had trouble gaining ground in the Great Lakes State.
Mr. Santorum also received the endorsement of Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, a former Romney backer, Friday. “To be elected president, you have to do more than tear down your opponent; you have to give the American people a reason to vote for you,” Mr. DeWine said, according to Bloomberg. “Rick Santorum has done that. Sadly, Governor Romney has not,” Mr. DeWine added.
Mr. DeWine’s endorsement is likely to only add to Mr. Santorum’s lead in Ohio. The Pennsylvania Republican leads Mr. Romney by 18 percentage points in a Rasmussen Reports poll of likely Ohio Republican primary voters.
Mr. Santorum’s victory in the Mecklenburg County Republican Party straw poll may not be an accurate reading of voters nationwide, but it mirrors the results of polls in several of the upcoming election states.
