Rick Santorum Beats Mitt Romney in Pennsylvania Poll

With an increased focus on Pennsylvania in the Republican presidential race, Quinnipiac University released a poll looking at the Keystone State that found favorite son Rick Santorum leading there. Santorum takes 36 percent followed by Mitt Romney with 22 percent, Ron Paul with 12 percent and Newt Gingrich lagging in single digits with 8 percent. In a one-on-one match-up, Santorum leads Romney, taking 52 percent with the former Massachusetts governor trailing with 32 percent.

"Pennsylvania Republicans are turning to their native son, former Senator Rick Santorum, said Tim Malloy, the assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. The last time we surveyed the Keystone State, during the Gingrich boomlet in December, the former House speaker led the GOP pack with 31 percent, followed by Governor Mitt Romney with 17 percent and Santorum with 9 percent.

"Santorum's lead among conservatives, tea party members and white evangelical Christians is what we have found in other states," Malloy continued. "What we've also seen in other states is that Romney comes from behind, riding a tidal wave of negative advertising. Whether attack ads work against a native son remains to be seen."

The poll of 508 registered Pennsylvania Republicans was taken from March 7-12 and had a margin of error of +/- 4.4 percent.