Former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum currently leads former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney in Michigan according to two recent polls.
Photo: KeystoneUSA-Zuma / Rex Features.

Two recent polls conducted in Michigan ahead of the Feb. 28 Republican presidential primary show that former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum would win the contest if voters went to the polls today.

The first poll, conducted by the American Research Group and taken among 600 likely primary voters, indicated that Mr. Santorum was the favorite of 33 percent of those questioned, six percentage points ahead of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. Former House speaker Newt Gingrich came in third place with 21-percent support, whereas Texas Congressman Ron Paul garnered the support of only 12 percent of the respondents.

The second poll, conducted by Public Policy Polling (PPP) between Feb. 10 and Feb. 12, also placed Mr. Santorum in the lead with 39-percent support. Mr. Romney was again in second place but this time trailed the former senator by 15 percentage points. Dr. Paul was third with 12 percent of the votes, while Mr. Gingrich finished last with 11 percent of the ballots. The PPP survey questioned a total of 404 Republican primary voters.

Mr. Santorum was the only one of the remaining GOP candidates to be overwhelmingly seen in a favorable light, with 67 percent of those questioned stating they viewed him positively, compared with 23 percent who had a negative opinion of him.

Forty nine percent of those surveyed viewed Mr. Romney in a favorable way, compared with 39 percent who did not. Mr. Gingrich was seen in a negative light by 47 percent of respondents (vs. 38 percent who had a favorable opinion), while Dr. Paul was viewed favorably by only 32 percent of those questioned, against 51 percent who viewed him unfavorably.

Mr. Romney, who was born in the Great Lakes State, was widely expected to win the Feb. 28 contest. Yet, the PPP survey found him trailing Mr. Santorum throughout the sate except in Oakland County. Interestingly, 62 percent of those questioned indicated that they did not consider Mr. Romney as a Michigander. However, it should be noted that 53 percent of respondents stated that they might end up supporting a different candidate by the time they go to the polls in two weeks’ time.