Buried in the Quinnipiac new poll showing Santorum leading Romney in Ohio among likely GOP primary voters is an really interesting nugget about Santorum’s general-election appeal.
Right now, among all voters, Santorum is showing strength in what is not usually a Republican stronghold: a sense among voters that he cares about regular people.
“Does [name of candidate] care about the needs and problems of people like you or not?”
Romney: 40 percent Yes, 48 percent No.
Gingrich: 37 percent Yes, 53 percent No.
Obama: 58 percent Yes, 39 percent No.
Santorum: Yes 53 percent, 29 percent No.
Caveats: Santorum’s just about to face the Romney barrage (probably delivered through the mainstream media) and this could change everything. Santorum, the face of compassionate conservativism? That will blow the MSM’s mind.
At a private lunch with Santorum at CPAC, he told us, “If I can win Ohio and Pennsylvania in November — and I think I can – it’s hard to see how the Democrats put together an electoral map that leads to victory.”