Poll: Santorum Gets Boost From Iowa
MIAMI (CBSMiami.com) – Fresh off tying Mitt Romney in Iowa, Rick Santorum is getting a bounce in the first national poll conducted since the Iowa caucuses.
According to the poll from Rasmussen Reports, Romney is in first place with 29 percent of the GOP vote compared to Santorum's 21 percent of the Iowa vote.
Based on a margin of error of +/- 3 percent, Romney's lead could be as small as three points.
But the bigger problem for Romney coming out of the New Hampshire primary and heading towards South Carolina and Florida will be the future campaigns of Newt Gingrich and Texas Governor Rick Perry.
Both Gingrich and Perry have solid followings amongst the very conservatives who are reluctant to side with Romney over ideological differences.
Gingrich and Perry combined to carry 20 percent of the vote in the Rasmussen Poll.
If a majority of their supporters flocked to Santorum when Gingrich and Perry drop out of the race, it could be a game changer for Santorum.
For Santorum to gain enough momentum to make a difference though, he will have to capture a larger share of votes in New Hampshire and South Carolina.
Then he will have to muster a huge effort in Florida where Romney has routinely run near the top of the race.
