WASHINGTON – A new national poll shows Mitt Romney increasing his lead to 11 percentage points over top challenger Rick Santorum as the Republican presidential campaign intensified ahead of Super Tuesday's crucial votes in 10 states.
The two men are in a bitter, longer-than-expected fight for the nomination to challenge President Obama in November.
The latest Gallup tracking poll showed
Romney -- boosted by an outright win this week in Arizona and a slim win
in his home state of Michigan -- with 35 percent support, to 24 percent
for Santorum. The Gallup survey represents a daily snapshot of a
candidate's standing.
But polls show
Santorum with a considerable advantage in Ohio, probably the most
important state that votes Tuesday. The votes in 10 states will
apportion a total of 419 delegates to the party national convention in
August. The Republican nominee must accumulate at least 1,144 delegates
to win the nomination.
Romney now leads with 168 delegates, followed by Santorum with 86. Former House of Representatives speaker Newt Gingrich has 32 delegates, and libertarian Rep. Ron Paul has 19.
Obama, meanwhile, has been focusing on energy policy
as U.S. gasoline prices have hit a record high for this time of year.
Some forecasters predict prices could climb to $5 a gallon.
That would produce a significant drag on the U.S. economy, which has recently showed signs of a sustained recovery.
Obama's political standing has improved
along with the economic numbers. He spent Thursday in the small
Northeastern state of New Hampshire, calling for Congress to abolish tax
breaks for oil companies.
Obama moved on to New York for four
fundraising events Thursday night, preparing for what will surely be one
of the most expensive presidential campaigns ever.
At one fundraiser, a supporter openly urged Obama to avoid a war with Iran over its disputed nuclear program. "Nobody has announced a war," Obama said. "You're jumping the gun a little bit."
Obama has blamed higher gasoline costs on market uncertainty over fears that Israel
could launch air strikes against nuclear facilities in Iran, a major
oil producer. He also has blamed higher costs on growing demand in China and India.
Republicans have seized on climbing fuel
prices to attack the president, with Romney hitting hard during a
Thursday visit to the oil-boom state of North Dakota.
The former Massachusetts governor said that
Obama has tried to slow oil, gas and coal production. "Far from taking
credit, he should be hanging his head and taking a little bit of the
blame for what's going on today," Romney said.
Obama has argued that the U.S. is producing more oil now than at any time in the last eight years.
Meanwhile, Santorum continues to attack Romney as not conservative enough to satisfy the Republican base.
The former Pennsylvania senator's
increasingly conservative campaign positions, which have focused heavily
on social issues like abortion, contraception and women in the
workplace, have forced Romney to shift his politics further to the
right.
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