ASU: Gingrich 21%, Romney 20%, Santorum 17% en Alabama

The Montgomery Advertiser:

The support for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is increasing in Alabama and he is in a virtual dead heat with former Massachussetts Gov. Mitt Romney headed into the state's presidential primary on Tuesday, according to a poll released Friday by Alabama State University. The support has waned, however, for former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania.

About 20.7 percent of likely registered Republican voters surveyed said they would vote for Gingrich compared to 13.8 percent who said they would vote for him in February, according to the poll conducted Monday through Thursday.

“According to our poll results that ended last evening, Gingrich is coming on strong in Alabama and his numbers are still rising,” said Thomas Vocino, director of the university’s Center for Leadership & Public Policy, which conducted the poll of 416 people. “His support was declining five weeks earlier (according to the center's February poll) and now Gingrich appears to be the comeback candidate at the expense of Santorum and Romney.”

Santorum led the four remaining Republican candidates in a poll conducted by the center in February. Santorum's numbers climbed from 9 percent on Feb. 2 and increased to 22.7 percent by March 1, according to polling data from the university. But, in the most recent poll that concluded on Thursday, Santorum's support had dropped to 16.7 percent among those surveyed.

The support for Romney, the national frontrunner, was steady at between 16 percent and 18 percent in February and increased to 20.2 percent in the most recent survey.

There are still a sizeable number of undecided voters in the Alabama Republican presidential primary, 27.4 percent, according to the university poll.

(...) The poll did not ask those surveyed about U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas. About 15.1 percent of those surveyed did answer "others."