A new poll commissioned by the Detroit Free Press shows that former Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) still has a small lead in the Michigan Republican primary race, within the margin of error. Santorum gets 37 percent ahead of the February 28th vote, with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney at 34 percent, Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) at ten and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich seeing seven.
Santorum continues to hold on to the conservative voting bloc, the most mobile group in the Republican primary process. And with less than a week to go, the numbers warn that no candidate should get too comfortable. From the Free Press:
The race remains a volatile one, perhaps right up to the end. Nearly half of the poll’s respondents – 45% — said they would consider changing their minds about who to vote for before Tuesday, and 12% of respondents said they were still undecided who to vote for on Tuesday.
But Santorum continues to show strength, as the conservative base rallies around him: Among self-described conservatives, he leads Romney 46% to 27% (Romney leads among the much-smaller bloc of moderate voters 51% to 17%.) Men favor Santorum 41% to 29% for Romney, and Santorum has built up double-digit leads over Romney in the western and central parts of the state.
The TPM Poll Average shows Santorum holding a tiny lead with five days to go.
