Today is Shaping Up to be a Huge Day for Rick Santorum in GOP Primary / Caucus Voting – 2/7/12

New polls by Public Policy Polling (PPP) give Sen. Rick Santorum substantial leads and strong momentum in two of the three states voting today, February 7, in the GOP Presidential race.

PPP shows Santorum surging out to a 13 point lead in Missouri, where Santorum has a head-to-head matchup with Mitt Romney. Newt Gingrich decided to skip Missouri’s Primary because it is non-binding on delegates. That could turn out to be a huge tactical blunder by Gingrich, because it gives Santorum a golden opportunity to defeat Romney straight up in a one-on-one contest. If Santorum wins, and wins by a substantial margin in Missouri, it will give him a great deal of momentum, and evidence to point to, in making the case that he is the best conservative to take on Romney and then Obama.

PPP also shows Santorum moving out to a 9 point lead over Romney in Minnesota, with Newt Gingrich well behind, along with Ron Paul. Even Colorado is tightening, with Romney now holding a 10 point lead over Santorum, who is in second, with Gingrich lagging back in third place.

I believe today could be a very significant moment in the GOP Nomination race. If Santorum wins two out of three contests, and Newt Gingrich finishes third or worse in all three, Santorum could be catapulted to a new level of support across the country. Today could be the day that conservatives decide to galvanize their support around Santorum to stop a Mitt Romney nomination. I actually think there is an outside chance Santorum will win all three contests today, or at least finish a very close second to Romney in Colorado. If so, it will be a very bad day for Romney and Gingrich, and a huge day for Rick Santorum.

Right now, it appears Ron Paul could finish last in the caucus states of Colorado and Minnesota. If so, it would be a huge blow to his campaign. The caucuses are where Paul has typically been thought to be the strongest. If he cannot win there, where can he win?