Rick Santorum’s home state advantage may be disappearing. According to a Franklin and Marshall College poll released Wednesday, the former Pennsylvania senator now leads former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney by only two percentage points in the state. He led Romney by nearly 30 points in a Franklin and Marshall poll released in mid-February.
Santorum has 30 percent support, and Romney has 28 percent in the latest poll. Texas Rep. Ron Paul has 9 percent, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich rounds out the field with 6 percent. Santorum leads Romney, 37-25, among conservative voters. Romney leads by 21 points among moderate voters, however. Santorum leads among female voters, 32-24, while Romney leads among male voters, 33-29. Those with a household income of less than $35,000 overwhelmingly favor Santorum, while those with an income of over $75,000 prefer Romney by 10 points.
The poll comes on the heels of big wins by Romney in Illinois and Santorum in Louisiana last week. Despite calls from several Republican leaders for the party to begin to coalesce around Romney and prepare for the general election, Santorum insists he is in the race for the long haul. Keep reading
Published at RealClearPolitics.com, March 28, 2012
