Romney edges ahead in Ohio

GlobalPost

As Super Tuesday looms, with several key states heading to the polls to vote for the Republican presidential candidate of their choice, polling data reflects that Mitt Romney might be edging ahead of Rick Santorum.

The latest polls, taken on the eve of Super Tuesday, showed Romney gaining momentum over his rival. Quinnipiac University’s poll showed Romney leading Santorum, 34 percent to 31 percent in Ohio, aided by a 10 point bump after his Michigan win, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The Public Policy Polling data showed a slimmer lead, with Romney one point ahead of Santorum at 37 percent, in Ohio. However, Santorum held the lead in Tennessee with 34 percent over Romney’s 29 percent, and Newt Gingrich lead the polls in Georgia with a healthy 23 point lead at 47 percent.

Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said, “Just as he did in Florida and Michigan, Romney has erased a sizeable deficit a week before the primary to grab the momentum in the final 24 hours.”

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Slate attributed the surge in Romney’s numbers to the amount of spending his campaign has been doing on ads.

In Ohio, a key swing state with the second highest number of delegates, 66, the Romney campaign spent $1.2 million on ads, and the pro-Romney super PAC Restore Our Future spent $2.4 million, according to the Associated Press.

Based on data from the Federal Election Commission, the Republican candidates so far have spent $10 million in seven of the states that will vote on Super Tuesday, with total spending on ads in the Republican presidential race so far amounting to $75 million.

The AP said that unlike previous Super Tuesdays, the delegates will not be distributed in a winner-take-all manner, but rather reflect the popular vote, allowing more than one candidate to claim success.

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Jack Lindley, the Republican Party chairman in Vermont, told CNN, “Mitt Romney will probably pick up the most delegates on Super Tuesday and then it goes on, state by state, drip by drip. It's like water torture.”

At a campaign stop in Ohio, Romney said, “I hope that I get the support of people here in Ohio tomorrow and in other states across the country. I believe if I do, I’ll get the nomination. Then we can start organizing our effort to make sure that we replace President Obama,” according to Politico.

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