LANSING, Mich. — Mitt Romney is neck-and-neck with Rick Santorum in Michigan but has pulled far ahead in Arizona on the eve of key primary contests in both states, according to new polls.
The Public Policy Polling survey of likely Michigan primary voters, conducted Sunday, found Romney leading Santorum by a margin of 39 percent to 37 percent — a difference within the poll’s margin of error. Romney’s support has jumped six points in the past week, while Santorum has remained level.
Texas Rep. Ron Paul was in third place with 13 percent, while former House Speaker Newt Gingrich drew nine percent.
The pollsters said Santorum’s recent focus on social issues may be hurting him with Michigan voters. The poll found that 69 percent of voters are primarily concerned with economic issues and Romney was leading that group with 45 percent to Santorum’s 30 percent.
Romney has also cut into Santorum’s support among Evangelicals, Tea Party voters, and those describing themselves as “very conservative.”
Santorum’s lead was about 30 percentage points among those groups just two weeks ago. It has now shrunk to seven points with Evangelicals and Tea Party supporters and 10 percent with ‘very conservative’ Republicans.
In Arizona, Romney has pulled well ahead of Santorum and the rest of the presidential field, according to a separate PPP poll also conducted Sunday.
The former Massachusetts governor secured 43 percent in that poll, compared to Santorum’s 26 percent, Gingrich’s 18 percent and Paul’s 11 percent.
Also, nearly half of those planning to vote had already cast their ballots, and Romney had a 48 percent to 25 percent advantage over Santorum among that group.
The pollsters said that lead makes it “nearly impossible” for Santorum to catch up.
In Michigan, PPP surveyed 421 likely Republican primary voters. The poll’s margin of error is 4.8 percent. PPP polled 515 likely Republican primary voters for its Arizona survey. The margin of error for that poll is 4.3 percent.