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Polls show Romney gains in Ohio on eve of Super Tuesday

Three new polls released Monday show Mitt Romney with more momentum in Ohio than Rick Santorum.

Two of the surveys show the former Massachusetts governor edging out his top rival on the eve of Super Tuesday, while one poll shows Santorum still clinging to a slight lead.

But all three illustrate a distinct Romney bump.

Quinnipiac University’s Polling Institute found Romney leading 34 percent to 31 percent in Ohio, on the strength of a 10 percentage-point swing since scoring a much-needed win in Michigan late last month. Public Policy Polling (PPP) shows a similar trend.

Even the latest Suffolk University poll, which gives Santorum a slight lead, shows Romney narrowing the gap by 13 percentage points. Many of the final tallies remain within the margin of error.

“It’s deja vu all over again for Gov. Mitt Romney,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, borrowing a frequently used Yogi Berra quote. “Just as he did in Florida and Michigan, Romney has erased a sizable deficit a week before the primary to grab the momentum in the final 24 hours.”

In Ohio, Romney leads Santorum 40 percent to 28 percent, among those voters who are just making up their minds, according to the PPP survey. The same poll shows him leading 41 percent to 34 percent among those who have already voted.

In Tennessee, Santorum’s once-sizable lead has almost entirely collapsed, PPP found. He has a modest cushion among the nearly one-in-four likely primary voters who have already cast ballots, leading 39 percent to 32 percent over Romney. He also leads among evangelicals. But Romney once again has an edge among those who are deciding late.

To read more, go to The Wall Street Journal.