Romney in tight Minnesota race to retain momentum
US: The Republican caucuses in Minnesota on Tuesday are a virtual
toss up, with frontrunner Mitt Romney trailing former senator Rick
Santorum by a small margin, a poll showed Sunday. Romney, who
strengthened his lead for the White House race with a solid win Saturday
in the Nevada caucuses, faces a tougher challenge in the midwestern
state, based on the survey from Public Policy Polling.
The poll gave Santorum, a narrow winner in neighboring Iowa, 29
percent of the vote to 27 percent for the former Massachusetts governor.
Former House of Representatives speaker Newt Gingrich, whose campaign
appears to be losing steam, was at 18 percent while congressman Ron Paul
held 12 percent, the poll showed.
Minnesota has 40 delegates at stake in its non-binding caucuses,
which will select delegates to the Republican convention to choose the
party's candidate to face Democratic President Barack Obama in November.
Minnesota is among three heartland states voting on Tuesday, along
with Missouri and Colorado. PPP said Tuesday has the potential to be a
big day for Santorum, who has had a lead in Missouri and is running
second in Colorado.
But the polling group said Romney has momentum after big wins in
Florida and Nevada.
AFP
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