New polls of Minnesota, Colorado and Missouri from Public Policy Polling (D) show former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum emerging as the chief challenger in each state to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney before GOP contests in each state tonight. In the Colorado caucuses, Romney looks to be the winner in PPP’s numbers, but Santorum has passed former House Speaker Newt gingrich for second place — Romney gets 37 percent, Santorum 27, Gingrich 21 and Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) 13.
In Minnesota’s caucuses, PPP’s polling shows Santorum may win. The former Senator leads with 33 percent of likely caucus-goers, Romney gets 24 and Gingrich 22, with Paul last at 20. And in Missorui, which because of national GOP primary rules is holding a primary tonight that will award no delegates but a caucuses in a month that will, Santorum leads the field. But former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is not on the ballot in the Show Me State primary, and the real fight will be for its caucus on March 17th.
PPP’s pollsters said that Santorum could be displacing Gingrich as Romney’s chief rival:
There are three groups Santorum’s winning in all three of these states: Tea Partiers, Evangelicals, and those describing themselves as ‘very conservative.’ Those were groups that had previously been in Gingrich’s column, but it appears right leaning Republican voters are shifting toward Santorum as their primary alternative to Romney. If Santorum does pick up 2 wins and a 2nd place finish tomorrow that trend is likely to be accelerated.
“Rick Santorum has the potential to firmly establish himself as the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney today,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “If he can pick up two wins and a second it will raise significant questions about both Romney’s inevitability and about the purpose for Newt Gingrich’s continued presence in the race.”
