If Rick Santorum has a lead on Mitt Romney in Ohio, it looks like it's not much of one. A new Quinnipiac University poll shows Santorum leading Romney by four percentage points, 35 percent to 31 percent.
With the margin of error at +/-4.3 points, the two top rivals for the Republican presidential nomination are essentially tied just days before Super Tuesday when voters in Ohio and nine other states take part in the presidential primary process.
Quinnipiac's pollsters say Santorum's Ohio lead appears to have shrunk from what it was before the Michigan primary on Tuesday which Romney won. The earlier poll put Santorum's lead at seven points.
The poll showed Santorum with leads among all groups except, as you might expect, Republicans who describe themselves as moderates who leaned towards Romney.
An excerpt from the Quinnipiac pollsters' commentary:
"Santorum leads Romney 34 - 28 percent among men and 37 - 33 percent among women, 40 - 27 percent among self-described conservatives and 42 - 25 percent among Tea Party members. Romney leads Santorum 46 - 26 percent among self-described moderates.
" 'At this point, the Buckeye State is too close to call and is clearly a two-man race between Sen. Rick Santorum and Gov. Mitt Romney,' said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. 'A third of the electorate say they still might change their mind. With five days until Super Tuesday, they certainly will be exposed to enough negative television ads to provide fodder for those who might want to switch - or switch off.' "
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