Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum holds a slim lead in Ohio ahead of next Tuesday's Republican primary, according to the results of a Quinnipiac University poll released on Friday, although the race seems likely to go down to the wire.
The poll showed that 35 percent of likely primary voters would vote for Santorum, while 31 percent said they would vote for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
Santorum's 4-point lead is within the poll's margin of error and is narrower than the 36 percent to 29 percent lead he held over Romney in a poll conducted a few days earlier.
The latest poll found that 17 percent of likely primary voters intend to vote for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, while Texas Congressman Ron Paul comes in last at 12 percent.
Notably, 34 percent of the likely primary voters who named a candidate said they still might change their mind by Tuesday.
Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said, "At this point, the Buckeye State is too close to call and is clearly a two-man race between Sen. Rick Santorum and Gov. Mitt Romney."
"A third of the electorate say they still might change their mind," he added. "With five days until Super Tuesday, they certainly will be exposed to enough negative television ads to provide fodder for those who might want to switch - or switch off."
While Ohio is just one of ten states holding its nominating contest on "Super Tuesday," the outcome of the primary in the Buckeye State may take on increased importance due to its likely role as a swing state in the general election.
The survey of 517 likely Ohio primary voters was conducted February 29th through March 1st and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.
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