Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney Close in Q-Poll of Ohio

Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney are in a tight struggle, according to a new poll of Ohio which holds its primary on Tuesday.

A poll of likely primary voters unveiled by Quinnipiac University on Friday finds Santorum leading with 35 percent with Romney behind him with 31 percent. Newt Gingrich takes third with 17 percent, followed by Ron Paul with 12 percent. More than a third -- 34 percent -- of those surveyed say they could change their minds on who they are backing. Santorum led a Quinnipiac poll of Ohio released earlier in the week with 36 percent followed by Romney with 29 percent.

"At this point, the Buckeye State is too close to call and is clearly a two-man race between Senator Rick Santorum and Governor Mitt Romney," said Peter Brown, the assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "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."

The poll of 517 likely Ohio Republican primary voters was taken Feb. 29-March 1 and had a margin of error of +/- 4.3 percent.