Rick Santorum is giving Mitt Romney a headache in the next two primary states, having taken the lead in Romney’s old hometown of Michigan, and closing in on him in a new Arizona poll released Wednesday.
The poll, conducted by American Research Group, found Romney leading in Arizona with 38 percent, and Santorum close behind at 31 percent. Newt Gingrich has fallen to a distant third with 15 percent, and Ron Paul has 11 percent. (RELATED: Full coverage of the 2012 elections)
The results are drastically different from a poll conducted just two weeks ago, at the end of January, when Romney was tied with Gingrich at 32 percent, and Santorum was at 10 percent, in fourth place behind Ron Paul.
Though Romney leads, Santorum appears to have the greater momentum coming out of his triple-win in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri last week. CNN reported that Santorum will begin running ads in Arizona Thursday.
In Michigan, Santorum leads in the polls, despite the fact that Romney’s father is a popular former governor of the state. Two polls released Wednesday have Santorum leading by 9 and 10 points. Just two weeks ago, polls showed Romney with a 15-point lead.
Both states hold their primaries on Tuesday, February 28.