New poll shows Romney gaining steam in final days

March 3, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

COLUMBUS

GOP presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney is picking up speed in Ohio following his wins in Michigan and Arizona earlier this week.

According to new numbers released by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute on Friday, Romney now lags former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum by 4 percentage points — within the margin of error for the survey.

Among likely Republican voters, 35 percent picked Santorum versus 31 percent for Romney. That compares with a poll released Monday that put Santorum ahead, 36 percent to 29 percent.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Republican U.S.Rep. Ron Paul came in third and fourth, respectively, with 17 percent and 12 percent.

And 34 percent of respondents said they still might change their mind.

“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,” Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the polling institute, said in a released statement.

“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.”

Connecticut-based Quinnipiac regularly gauges Ohioans’ opinions of candidates and issues.

It polled 517 likely Republican primary voters Wednesday and Thursday on GOP presidential choices. The results have a margin of error of 4.3 percentage points.