Poll: Romney clings to lead over Santorum in Arizona

Mitt Romney leads the GOP presidential field in Arizona, but Rick Santorum is closing in fast, according to a poll released on Wednesday by the American Research Group.

Romney leads with 38 percent, followed by Santorum at 31 percent, Newt Gingrich at 15 percent and Ron Paul at 11 percent.

In the same poll conducted in late January, Romney and Gingrich were tied for the lead in Arizona at 32 percent, while Santorum was mired in fourth place at 10 percent.

On Feb. 28, voters in Arizona and Michigan will head to the polls for the GOP presidential primaries.

According to an ARG poll in Michigan released earlier this week, Santorum leads with 32 percent, followed by Romney at 27 percent.

Romney, whose father George Romney was once governor of Michigan, was widely viewed as having an insurmountable advantage in the Wolverine State because of his close ties there, but Santorum has vaulted into contention on the strength of his surprising three-state caucus sweep last week in Minnesota, Colorado and Missouri.

A spate of polling data released this week also shows Santorum closing in on or surpassing Romney nationally.

According to Gallup’s daily tracking poll, Santorum is within the margin of error of Romney nationally, trailing 33 percent to 31 percent, and a Rasmussen poll released on Wednesday shows Santorum opening up a 12-point lead on Romney nationally.

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