Santorum Opens Wide Lead Over Romney

Worth Clicking: Blasts from the past wound Romney

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February 11, 2012

Santorum Opens Wide Lead Over Romney

A new Public Policy Polling survey shows Rick Santorum has pulled ahead of Mitt Romney among Republican voters nationally, 38% to 23%. They are followed by Newt Gingrich at 17% and Ron Paul at 13%.

A key 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% to 43% while Gingrich is upside down at 42% to 44%.

Most interesting: "If Gingrich dropped out 58% of his supporters say they would move to Santorum, while 22% would go to Romney and 17% to Paul. Santorum gets to 50% in the Newt free field to 28% for Romney and 15% for Paul."

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Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including the Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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February 11, 2012