Fox News Poll: Santorum Surges Nationally After Three-State Sweep [Ties Romney at 30%; Gingrich 16%]

FoxNews ^ | February 09, 2012 | Dana Blanton

[Steelfish]

Fox News Poll: Santorum Surges Nationally After Three-State Sweep By Dana Blanton February 10, 2012

Rick Santorum has surged nationally in the race for the 2012 Republican nomination after his three-state sweep this week, while Mitt Romney has lost ground among GOP primary voters. In addition, most GOP voters say the nomination race isn’t over -- someone other than Romney could still win. That’s according to a Fox News poll released Friday.

The new poll was conducted over four nights this week -- Monday through Thursday -- so it provides a unique opportunity to compare Santorum’s support before and after his wins in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri. And the results are striking.

Click here to view full Fox News poll results.

In interviews conducted on Monday and Tuesday nights -- immediately before the news of his victories -- Santorum received the backing of 17 percent of GOP primary voters. That was well behind Romney (35 percent) and Newt Gingrich (26 percent), and slightly ahead of Ron Paul (14 percent).

In interviews conducted on Wednesday and Thursday nights -- after his wins -- Santorum’s support nearly doubled, which put him tied at the top with Romney for those two days at 30 percent. That’s an increase of 13 percentage points. Over the last two nights, Romney also received 30 percent, a drop of 5 points. Gingrich came in at 16 percent, down 10 points. Paul’s support held steady at 15 percent.

Looking at the results from all four nights of this week’s interviewing, Romney retains his frontrunner spot with 33 percent, followed by Santorum at 23 percent, Gingrich at 22 percent and Paul at 15 percent.

[oust the louse]

So we are staking our hopes on a guy that couldn’t win his own seat in his own state?

Take a look at who Santorum went up against in Pa. defending his seat and how it all happened. Do you even know or care?...Dem party had it out for him and they won. They are scared of him....

[napscoordinator]

WE DON’T NEED NO STINKIN’ PENNSYLVANIA TO WIN IN NOVEMBER!!

Yes we do! lol. I love it. This sure is fun. I can’t wait to run to the polling center instead of having to be dragged with the rest of them.

[napscoordinator]

Make no mistake, Romney can easily beat Santorum.

He sure showed Santorum on Tuesday night. lol. You guys are so deranged.

[Right_in_Virginia]

Santorum, wonderful human being that he is, will not be painted as an economic conservative or a judicial conservative---not only because he truly is neither---but as a right-wing, pro-life, anti-society nut job.

Period. This is the attack that Zero will use.

Here are the headings for the question Santorum will face until his defeat should he get the nomination: - Abortion; - Contraception; - Religion; - Evolution; - Gay rights; and now: - Women in combat.

Santorum has made these issues his essence--and like it or not, agree with it or not, we don't win general elections on social issues.

[Gator113]

Turn on CNN... the democrats are not one bit afraid of Santorum.

[KansasGirl]

[then unfortunately they and the candidate will be painted as lunatic, right-wing fringe]

Isn’t that how they painted Reagan?

Santoeum is running better against Obama than Romney in both OH and FL in Rasmussen polls released today.

[American Constitutionalist]

" I was so disheartened over Rick's support of Specter "

Yeah, and I and many Santourm supporters are getting old and tired of your silly lame arguments about how Rick endorsed Spector, but will gleefully vote for someone who endorsed DEDE the liberal,, right, we got it... do as I say, and not do as I do... got it... hypocrisy is alive and well among the Newt supporters....

[Marguerite]

That is a tired argument

If that is not enough for you, THEN watch this video:

It includes his brushing Obama's shoes, a snippet of the information from the London School of Economics regarding the impact of Santorum's K-Street Project, his role in the Ensign Scandal, and his past relationship with the Page Program which led to the Republican loss of the Senate in 2006 and the rise of Harry Reid to power

http://youtu.be/env9ZRCTHO0

[napscoordinator]

If Santorum gets the nomination, I’ll stay home.

IBTZ

[American Constitutionalist]

" The voters being polled don’t seem to be turned off, as some other freepers have feared propagandized " there now, fixed..

[AlwaysFrosty]

You are absolutely right! This election has to be about jobs, reducing the size of government, reducing the intrusion of government in the lives of citizens, and regaining a fiscal conservative position in Washington. If Rick is Nominated it will be about gays, abortion and religion...NOT a platform that can win in our current culture. That's NOT to say they are unimportant, but those will not be the winning formula.

[American Constitutionalist]

" We don’t want lunatic fringe in the WH — from either side of the political aisle. "
Sounds like a true Newt supporter, propaganda... you know ? Newt's ? " Rightwing social engineering " ? or " The Reagan Era is over "

[OrangeHoof]

If Santorum gets the nomination, I'll stay home. There's no reason to waste precious gas trying to stop the other side's landslide victory.

That's seriously stupid. I may not feel good about the GOP nominee, whoever it is, but I MUST vote against Obama. If you're not even on board to that extent, I have no need of you.

[American Constitutionalist]

" WHAT about Turncoat Santorum's support of Mitt Romney in 2008??? "

What ? and go ahead and endorse the wild and crazy guy John McCain who is sometimes even more liberal, and on the edge of the fringe than even Mitt Romney ?

[Lazlo in PA]

we don't win general elections on social issues.

We don't need to. If you listen to Ricks speeches, they focus on the overbearing role of this Govt' and the loss of freedom. He has been on message all through this cycle on that and it is resonating. It is also key to focus here because the MSM is going to make the economy look rosy by the time the election comes around. Mitts argument as an economic savior will not hold water in those conditions. Newts problem so far is he keeps drifting off message. Loss of personal freedoms in an ever expanding Govt' is something tangible everyone can see. This line of attack is something the Regime cannot defend. Just look at how they are handling this mandate on birth control. Rick is best equipped to handle this argument.

[PjhCPA]

Better than a guy that couldn’t get re-elected as speaker by HIS OWN PARTY!!!

[American Constitutionalist]

" WHAT about Turncoat Santorum's support of Mitt Romney in 2008??? "

What ? and go ahead and endorse the wild and crazy guy John McCain who is sometimes even more liberal, and on the edge of the fringe than even Mitt Romney ?

Ohh yeah ? let us not forget about Newt's support on his own of Liberal DEDE, and his dabbling into the dark side of Global Warming Hoax, and sitting and getting all cozy with Liberals Pelosi and Hillary.... yeah, let's all forget about all that, because in the minds of the Newt supporters, that's all forgiven, HOW DARE the SANCTIMONIOUS SANTORUM supporters bring those things up... yeah, shame on the Santourm supporters... Mega Sarcasm...

[napscoordinator]

You are a Perry supporter. Go cheerlead him. He needs it DESPERATELY. lol. Seriously knock off the Santorum bashing. That is all you bring to the table.

[American Constitutionalist]

" Yep, it must be the Santoro folks who have given Newt his 60% nationwide disapproval rate, who caused Newt to run up a $200,000 bill at Tiffany's, who caused Newt to whine in Florida, etc. etc. etc. " .... who is "
Or ? who are the one's who are causing Global Warming, the Leaning Tower of Pizza, I meant, Pisa, the Apollo 13 almost disaster, so on and so on, and now the blame Bush syndrome is turn onto the Santorum Freeper supporters... in some ways ? the Newt supporter's logic and thinking is just like the MSM, and Liberals...

[American Constitutionalist]

You forgot ? the Santorum Freepers were the cause that Chamberlain waved the papers in his hand with his peace treaty with Hitler “ we have Peace in our time “ .... yeah, it’s all our fault Newt is losing ground....