October 13, 2015
Rick Santorum is still on the campaign trail, but most Pennsylvania Republicans think the state's former U.S. Senator should quit, according to a new poll released Tuesday.
The survey, conducted by Public Policy Polling, found that 64 percent of GOP respondents in the state think he should drop out while only 23 percent believe he should continue on.
Santorum polled at 12 percent in Pennsylvania back in May in a similar survey but now registers at just 2 percent.
The former Senator has failed to qualify for either of the first two primetime GOP debates, instead participating in earlier contests held for candidates polling lower than the frontrunners.
The new poll also found media personality and business mogul Donald Trump just edging out retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, 24-23 percent.
Those results mirror a poll earlier this month from Mercyhurst University that found the two candidates neck and neck in Pennsylvania.
As for neighboring New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, there seems to be a fighting chance. He sits in fifth among Pennsylvania Republicans with 7 percent.
That's a better sign for Christie than another poll released Tuesday, conducted by Rutgers Center for Public Polling, which found that 55 percent of New Jersey voters view him negatively while only 25 percent view him favorably.
As for Democrats, the poll found that frontrunner Hillary Clinton leads the surging Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, 40-22 percent.
Vice President Joe Biden, who is still reportedly mulling a run for the White House, garnered 20 percent.
The Public Policy Polling survey polled 479 Republican primary voters and 416 Democratic primary voters. The margin of error was 4.5 percent for Republicans and 4.8 percent for Democrats.
