Three candidates are vying for the win in the Alabama Republican presidential primary according to a new poll from Rasmussen. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich gets 30, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum sees 29, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is at 28 in the new poll, with Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) winning seven. There are 50 delegates of the 1,144 needed to win the GOP nomination at stake in Alabama, allocated proportionally unless one candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote. At the moment, that’s unlikely. From Rasmussen:
Romney is the clear leader in GOP delegates at this point and now posts a 39% to 27% lead over Santorum among Republican voters nationally. Gingrich runs third with 17% support. But the numbers in Alabama suggest that the former Massachusetts governor is still having trouble closing the sale with party conservatives. Santorum and Gingrich are battling over conservative voters, each claiming that if the other will get out of the race they can beat Romney handily.
Santorum’s momentum has slowed since early February. Gingrich won his first primary since South Carolina in late January when he carried his home state of Georgia this week on Super Tuesday. The former House speaker is counting on Republicans in Alabama and Mississippi who also vote next Tuesday to boost his flagging candidacy.
