A new poll of the Pennsylvania Republican primary from Public Policy Polling (D) shows former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney taking a small lead in the state after his victories in Wisconsin, Maryland and the District of Columbia. Romney gets 42 percent in the snap poll conducted Wednesday while native son and former Senator Rick Santorum fell back to second with 37 percent, Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) sees nine and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is at six ahead of the April 24th primary.
“The momentum in Pennsylvania is moving completely against Rick Santorum,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “Mitt Romney has a great chance to deliver a final crushing blow to his campaign on April 24th. A home state loss would be incredibly embarrassing for Santorum.”
The key subgroup in the 2012 primary process has always been the very conservative bloc, and Pennsylvania is no different. From PPP:
Romney’s made huge in roads with the groups that have tended to fuel Santorum’s success. What was a 37 point lead for Santorum with Evangelicals is now only 10 points at 44-34. What was a 32 point advantage for him with Tea Party voters is now only 6 at 41-35. And in the greatest sign that conservatives are starting to really around Romney a little bit, what was a 51 point deficit for him with ‘very conservative’ voters is now only 11 points at 44-33.
