Newt's southern strategy in trouble? Santorum leads in Tennessee in new poll

[WI_DEM]

Rick Santorum leads the Tennessee Republican presidential primary with 34%. Santorum is followed by Mitt Romney with 27%, Newt Gingrich with 16%, and Ron Paul with 13%.

Santorum leads Romney 36% to 28% among self-identified Republicans, followed by Gingrich with 21% and Paul with 5%. Among self-identified independents and Democrats, Paul leads with 31%, followed by Santorum with 28%, Romney with 25%, and Gingrich with 3%.

Santorum leads Romney 33% to 26% among likely Republican primary voters saying they will definitely vote in the March 6 primary, followed by Gingrich with 18% and Paul with 13%. Santorum leads Romney 36% to 32% among those saying they will probably vote.

Santorum leads with 40% among likely Republican primary voters saying they are supporters of the Tea Party, followed by Gingrich with 21%, Romney with 17%, and Paul with 11%. Among likely primary voters saying they are not supporters of the Tea Party or are undecided about the Tea Party, Romney leads with 34%, followed by Santorum with 29%, Paul with 14%, and Gingrich with 12%.

Santorum leads Romney 30% to 23% among men, followed by Gingrich with 18% and Paul with 16%. Santorum leads Romney 37% to 31% among women, followed by Gingrich with 13% and Paul with 9%.

http://americanresearchgroup.com/pres2012/primary/rep/tn/

[On the Road]

1. I Suspect Gingrich's Character Issues and Abrasiveness

do not play well at all in the South. Anyone who was voting for him as the most credible anti-Romney candidate got a very good reason to change their vote with Santorum's sweep earlier this week.

[ingac70]

2. I'm voting for Frothy Mix in the TN primary! whoo hoo! n/t

[CAPHAVOC]

3. Uh Oh!

Romney may not get his Planet.

[Zambero]

4. Do Karl Rove, Koch Bros. et al have reason to be nervous AGAIN?

There was a momentrary sigh of relief from GOP establishment types when Mittens took honors in Florida and Nevada, but it's starting to look like the far right might be settling on their extremist of choice, electability be damned. A whole lot of Super-PAC cash is being thrown at a certain candidate who might be following Rick Perry & Newt into the sunset. I say: Run, Ricky, Run!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ratty]

5. You kind if have to dig a little deeper to get to the crazy with this one

Oh the crazy is there all right but not the in-the-headlines sort of crazy you saw with the other candidates. With arch conservatives hating Romney and non-insane conservatives turned off by Gingrich, Perry and Cain, Santorum might have the best chance of defeating Obama come November. I don't believe he will but one must never forget 2004. Thank god for Santorum's Google "problem."

[urbuddha]

6. The Only thing Sanitarium/ooops...Santorum can do...

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[aint_no_life_nowhere]

7. Mitt Romney needs to legally change his name to Rick Santorum

and then tell Republican crowds he was never named Mitt Romney.

[RickFromMN]

8. Someone from Tennessee please let us know when the Romney Super PAC ads start to hit please.

[alp227]

9. looks like a Southern Split is creeping up in the GOP primaries

(Let's count former Confederate state as southern ones...yes I know, good folks living there, these states have to have the historical scars of the Civil War.)

2008:

Green=McCain (nominee). Yellow=Romney. Blue=Huckabee.

There was also a time when the GOP primaries were more united. In 2000 (red=GW Bush, yellow=McCain)



1988 (gold=GHW Bush, purple=Dole, green=Pat Robertson...yes that crazy guy Robertson really won TWO STATES in 1988! Wow, Washington has gone from voting for Pat Robertson in a primary to passing gay marriage.)



However, in 1976 (the last "brokered convention"?), Reagan won most of the Southern states (red), but Ford won the nomination (blue)