Nationally, Rick Santorum has now pulled just ahead of Mitt Romney in the Republican primary voters' preference for the Republican presidential nomination. At 3 points, Santorum's lead is within the poll's margin of error.
Ron Paul is now in third, followed by Newt Gingrich.
These are the latest numbers conducted through a poll by CBS News and the New York Times.
After wins in three contests last week, 30 percent of Republican primary voters now support Santorum for the nomination. He received the backing of just 16 percent in a slightly different question last month, and was in third place behind Gingrich.
Romney, who won the Maine caucuses on Saturday, has held fairly steady since January, while Gingrich's support has fallen by 11 points. Gingrich is now in fourth place behind Paul.
Santorum has received strong backing from conservatives, Tea Partiers and white evangelicals.
Self-identified conservatives divided their support among the candidates in January, but in this poll they are solidly behind Santorum. He receives far more support from this group than Romney does, and conservative support for Santorum has increased since last month.
Support for Gingrich among conservatives is now half of what it was in January, just before his victory in the South Carolina primary.
Santorum also leads the Republican field among Tea Party supporters, who make up more than four in 10 Republican primary voters, as well as evangelicals.
This poll was conducted by telephone from February 8-13, 2012 among 1,197 adults nationwide. 1,064 interviews were conducted with registered voters and 331 with voters who said they plan to vote in a Republican primary.
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