Rick Santorum now leads ALL GOP candidates nationally by 15 points according to latest PPP poll

rick-santorumPPP is one of the least accurate polling outfits out there, but sometimes they get things right. It’s also a left wing polling outfit using by the Daily Kooks (Kos), etc. So after yesterday’s Fox News poll showed Rick Santorum moving into second place behind Romney, this poll seems very odd. We’ll see if this poll is just an outlier or if Santorum really has gained a huge lead over Romney when more polls come out. PPP mentions that Santorum’s surge is due mainly to his favorability, compared to Romney and Gingrich.

Part of the reason for Santorum’s surge is his own high level of popularity. 64% of voters see him favorably to only 22% with a negative one. But the other, and maybe more important, reason is that Republicans are significantly souring on both Romney and Gingrich. Romney’s favorability is barely above water at 44/43, representing a 23 point net decline from our December national poll when he was +24 (55/31). Gingrich has fallen even further. A 44% plurality of GOP voters now hold a negative opinion of him to only 42% with a positive one. That’s a 34 point drop from 2 months ago when he was at +32 (60/28).

Santorum is now completely dominating with several key segments of the electorate, especially the most right leaning parts of the party. With those describing themselves as ‘very conservative,’ he’s now winning a majority of voters at 53% to 20% for Gingrich and 15% for Romney. Santorum gets a majority with Tea Party voters as well at 51% to 24% for Gingrich and 12% for Romney. And with Evangelicals he falls just short of a majority with 45% to 21% for Gingrich and 18% for Romney.

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February 11, 2012 · Filed Under 2012 Elections, Political Polling, Rick Santorum


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