Poll: Romney winning inevitability argument with most GOP voters

A majority of Republican voters expect Mitt Romney to be the GOP presidential nominee, according to a new poll released Monday.

The CBS News/New York Times poll finds that 73 percent believe Romney is the inevitable nominee, a significant rise from 55 percent in January. 

The survey is a further indication that, despite making progress in the race and maintaining a steady challenge for front-runner status in the polls, Rick Santorum has not convinced GOP voters that he is the most viable candidate.

He continues to argue vigorously against the idea that Romney is the most electable contender in the race. "What chance do we have in the general election if, with his overwhelming financial advantage, he can't deal a knockout blow?" Santorum argued against Romney this week.

Romney pushed back on Fox News on Monday, saying he’s "closing the deal, state by state, delegate by delegate” and his campaign is “pretty pleased with the progress we're making.”

Santorum leads Romney 34 percent to 30 nationally in the new CBS/New York Times poll, conducted between March 7 — “Super Tuesday” in 10 states — and March 11. Santorum’s lead falls within the poll’s margin of error.

Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul trail with 13 and 8 percent support, respectively.

Santorum has a much stronger lead among evangelical and Tea Party voters, according to the poll.

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