Rick Santorum Dominating GOP Field According to New PPP Poll

Rick Santorum Dominating GOP Field According To New PPP Poll
February 11, 2012
By Stephen D. Foster Jr.


Bolstered by sweeping victories in Missouri, Minnesota, and Colorado this past Tuesday, Rick Santorum has taken a commanding lead over the rest of the Republican candidates in the latest Public Policy Polling survey.

Santorum has an astounding 15 point lead over his closest opponent, Mitt Romney, 38% to 23%. Newt Gingrich is in third with 17%, and Ron Paul is still languishing in last place with 13%. According to PPP,

“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.”



This is not good news for Mitt Romney, who has seen his favorability numbers plummet since December and was considered to be not only the front-runner, but the entitled candidate to be the Republican nominee against President Obama this fall. The once seemingly unstoppable former Massachusetts Governor had a 55% favorability rating with 31% unfavorable, and that has now dissolved into a 44/43 rating. Just like Mitt, the voters can’t make up their minds. Santorum meanwhile, has seen his favorability skyrocket to a whopping 64% with only 22% unfavorable. Santorum’s platform has been by far the most conservative of all the candidates and he has consistently referred to himself as the only true conservative running in the race.

Santorum could benefit from even more support if Newt Gingrich would drop out of the race. 58% of Gingrich supporters would switch to the former Pennsylvania Senator if Gingrich ended his campaign right now. Only 22% would switch to Romney. If this Republican race for the nomination has taught us anything, however, it’s that the leader doesn’t last too long before being knocked off their high horse. Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, and Rick Perry all had their turn at the top of the lineup and each struck out. Santorum once rode high going into Iowa, but his support dropped going into New Hampshire where Romney won the day. Then Gingrich became the new flavor of the month, but after winning South Carolina, he got crushed by Romney in Florida and has taken a lot of flack for his racist comments, his troubled past and his lack of campaign discipline and money. Romney, like his political philosophy, has been back and forth between first place, second place, and third place among the candidates. And now Rick Santorum is back to being number one at something besides Google searches.

At this point, anything goes in this primary battle royale and we should expect the fight to get meaner, uglier, and nastier as it continues. If you haven’t paid attention to the race so far, it’s time to get some popcorn ready and tune in because it’s going to be a wild and crazy ride to the finish that could be devastating to the Republican Party when the general election arrives. Half of the Republican electorate still has yet to decide who they fully support and the GOP is looking more and more divided and unorganized than ever. And that’s good news for President Obama.
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