Polls: Close contest in Ohio
Santorum, Romney tight as Gingrich leads in Ga.
Heading into Super Tuesday’s contests, Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney remain neck-and-neck in the major battleground state of Ohio, while Newt Gingrich leads in his native state of Georgia, according to polls released on Sunday.
In Virginia, where Romney and Ron Paul are the only candidates on the ballot, Romney has a large advantage.
In a NBC News/marist poll of likely Republican primary voters in Ohio, Santorum is backed by 34 percent while Romney is supported by 32 percent. Gingrich has 15 percent and Paul has 13 percent in the poll, which includes undecided voters who are leaning toward a candidate. Only 6 percent remain undecided.
About six in 10 said they were firmly committed to their choice, three in 10 somewhat support their candidate, and about 10 percent said they could still change their mind before voting on Tuesday.
While Romney has benefited in some earlier primaries by his campaign’s efforts among early voters, Ohio’s pattern may not be as advantageous to him. The state’s voting booths were open for early voting until Friday, and the poll suggests that the former governor of Massachusetts does not have a big lead among those voters, getting 39 percent to Santorum’s 35 percent, a difference that is not statistically significant.
The economy continues to resonate among voters. In Ohio, a bare majority of all registered voters in the poll say the worst is behind them, 42 percent say the financial situation will remain the same, while a third think it will get better.
And as he has in other states, Santorum garners support from people who think he understands them and shares their values. In the NBC News/marist poll, 31 percent said he best understood their problems, while just 18 percent said Romney or Gingrich did.
In his home state, Gingrich has the support of 38 percent of the likely voters surveyed for Georgia News Partnership. In a tie for second place, Romney is the choice of 24 percent and Santorum has 22 percent. Paul is backed by 3 percent and 12 percent remain undecided.
Romney is backed by 69 percent of the likely voters and Paul by 26 percent in a poll of voters likely to vote in the Republican primary in Virginia, according to a NBC News/marist poll.