Polls Give Santorum Reason to Look Forward to Tomorrow
Rick Santorum's poll numbers in the three states that vote Tuesday look so good they've got Mitt Romney attacking and Newt Gingrich pre-conceding. Here's our guide to today's polls and why they matter.
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.Rick Santorum's poll numbers in the three states that vote Tuesday look so good they've got Mitt Romney attacking and Newt Gingrich pre-conceding. Here's our guide to today's polls and why they matter.
Findings: Santorum is beating Romney in Missouri and Minnesota. Rick Santorum is beating Newt Gingrich for second place in Colorado, 26 percent to 18 percent. Romney is way ahead of them with 40 percent.
Pollster: Public Policy Polling
Methodology: Robo-calls to 527 likely Republican caucus-goers in Colorado and to 410 likely Republican caucus-goers in Minnesota on February 4. Robo-calls to 574 usual Republican primary voters in Missouri January 28 to January 29.
Why it matters: The predictions that Gingrich would face a tough month in February seen accurate -- Gingrich is practically conceding the three primaries tomorrow. But Santorum wasn't expected to pull ahead of him. "I think Santorum's going to have a pretty good day tomorrow, and he will have earned it. He targeted differently than I did," Gingrich said Monday, Politico's Juana Summers reports. The New York Times' Nate Silver points out that the Midwest his hospitable to Santorum, who won the Iowa caucuses. "Mr. Santorum is, in many ways, a more dangerous opponent for Mr. Romney than Mr. Gingrich at this point," Silver writes. "He has run a more disciplined campaign than the former House speaker, has less personal baggage and is less disliked by party leaders." And other Midwestern (and potentially friendly) states' votes are scattered along the primary calendar. It's clear Romney's campaign is taking him seriously. CNN reports Romney supporter Tim Pawlenty, the former governor of Minnesota, accused Santorum of being "part of the big spending establishment in Congress and in the influence peddling."
Caveat: PPP leans left. Not many people are polling these states, so it's hard to compare the company's results to anyone else. And Missouri's primary is non-binding, as Gingrich's campaign is reminding everyone.
Pollster: Public Policy Polling
Methodology: Robo-calls to 527 likely Republican caucus-goers in Colorado and to 410 likely Republican caucus-goers in Minnesota on February 4. Robo-calls to 574 usual Republican primary voters in Missouri January 28 to January 29.
Why it matters: The predictions that Gingrich would face a tough month in February seen accurate -- Gingrich is practically conceding the three primaries tomorrow. But Santorum wasn't expected to pull ahead of him. "I think Santorum's going to have a pretty good day tomorrow, and he will have earned it. He targeted differently than I did," Gingrich said Monday, Politico's Juana Summers reports. The New York Times' Nate Silver points out that the Midwest his hospitable to Santorum, who won the Iowa caucuses. "Mr. Santorum is, in many ways, a more dangerous opponent for Mr. Romney than Mr. Gingrich at this point," Silver writes. "He has run a more disciplined campaign than the former House speaker, has less personal baggage and is less disliked by party leaders." And other Midwestern (and potentially friendly) states' votes are scattered along the primary calendar. It's clear Romney's campaign is taking him seriously. CNN reports Romney supporter Tim Pawlenty, the former governor of Minnesota, accused Santorum of being "part of the big spending establishment in Congress and in the influence peddling."
Caveat: PPP leans left. Not many people are polling these states, so it's hard to compare the company's results to anyone else. And Missouri's primary is non-binding, as Gingrich's campaign is reminding everyone.
Findings: Obama is beating Romney in the general election 49 percent to 42 percent.
Pollster: Rasmussen
Methodology: This tracking poll uses robo-calls to 500 likely voters over the last three days.
Why it matters: A new poll from ABC/ The Washington Post Monday showed Obama less electorally doomed than he has been for months. It showed Obama with a better approval rating and beating Romney by 51 percent to 45 percent among registered voters. But it's easy to dismiss just one poll, so it's interesting that the right-leaning Rasmussen finds the same thing Monday.
Caveat: It's a long time till November.
Pollster: Rasmussen
Methodology: This tracking poll uses robo-calls to 500 likely voters over the last three days.
Why it matters: A new poll from ABC/ The Washington Post Monday showed Obama less electorally doomed than he has been for months. It showed Obama with a better approval rating and beating Romney by 51 percent to 45 percent among registered voters. But it's easy to dismiss just one poll, so it's interesting that the right-leaning Rasmussen finds the same thing Monday.
Caveat: It's a long time till November.
This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.