Romney is ahead of Santorum, but still behind Obama, new Pew poll finds
Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks to supporters during a campaign stop at Kirkwood Park March 13, 2012 in Kirkwood, Missouri. As the race for delegates continues, the latest Pew Poll has put Obama ahead of Romney.
Mitt Romney is ahead of Santorum in the latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, despite his recent third-place finishes in the Alabama and Mississippi primaries.
However, Romney is still trailing behind President Obama, whose approval rating has reached 50 percent for the first time since last May, according to the latest Pew poll.
According to the survey, conducted March 7 through 11 among 1,503 adults, including 1,188 registered voters and 538 Republican and Republican-leaning voters, Romney is leading Santorum 33 percent to 24 percent. A month ago, the two GOP candidates were almost tied (28 percent for Romney, 30 for Santorum).
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However, both the Republican frontrunners are falling behind Barack Obama in general election contests: Obama has a 54 percent to 42 percent lead over Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, and a 57 percent to 39 percent edge over Santorum, a former US senator from Pennsylvania, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.
As well, 59 percent of voters surveyed by Pew see Romney losing to President Obama, while only 32 percent predicted that the former Massachusetts governor would win a presidential election, NPR reported.
Obama has also kept his strong advantage among women: he is 20 points ahead of Romney and 26 points ahead of Santorum with female voters, according to the poll.
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However, different polls tell different stories, the Boston Globe points out.
The ABC/Washington Post poll, which was released Tuesday, puts Romney ahead of Santorum by only two points, 31 to 29, and has Romney leading Obama, 47 to 46.
Another poll by CBS and the New York Times showed Obama leading Romney by just three points, and Santorum by just four.
ABC and the Post have Obama's approval rating at 46 percent, and CBS and the Times put it at 41 percent, the Globe reported, far lower than the Pew poll's figures.
On Monday, the Times wrote that the poll results put Obama in “a dangerous position for any incumbent seeking re-election.”