Poll: Santorum Narrows Gap With California Republican Voters
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Can the Republican frontrunner for the presidential race renew the faith of conservative voters in the Southland?
With a little over three months to go until the state primary vote in June, GOP candidate Rick Santorum has seen significant gains among California voters.
A new Field Poll released Wednesday showed Santorum garnering 25 percent of Republicans statewide were likely to vote for Santorum, just six points shy of fellow GOP candidate Mitt Romney.
Poll director Mark DiCamillo told KNX 1070 the California primary could be a watershed moment for Santorum and the other candidates.
"If you have broad-based support across the state, you could literally take all of California's delegates, which would be a huge proportion relative to the total that you need for nomination," said DiCamillo.
The month of February has proven to be a turning point for the Santorum campaign, with support for Romney among likely Republican voters ebbing both statewide and on a national level, with support for both candidates heading in opposite directions.
The former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania made a surprise campaign stop earlier this month at a Catholic church and school fundraiser in Coachella Valley.
Pollsters found Ron Paul staying stead in third place, while Newt Gingrich tumbled all the way to the bottom of the pack with the support of just 12 percent of GOP voters.
The poll also found 14 percent of Republicans in the state are still undecided.
