We can’t even find a majority of voters on this site who would back Santorum and feel confident he would be elected in the general. While Newt has his negatives he is a fiscal conservative and I believe much more socially conservative than most people realize. Newt would not have had the 34% poll numbers if he was “radioactive among Independents”. Take Santorum out of the picture and Newt would garner all of his and Perry’s old numbers. He would beat Romney by 20 points and Obama by 10.
I’m just saying, he’s not getting that 34 percent, now that folks believe that Santorum is electable. I don’t think those numbers are coming back.
When Cain went out, Newt came to the forefront. Then the folks that came over to him have gone back to Santorum. That’s what Iowa showed. It’s not the total, but where the votes were coming from.
From rural Iowa, the most conservative areas voted Santorum. That doesnt’ bode well for South Carolina and this poll confirms my suspicions.
Newt’s support was a mile wide and an inch deep.