Gallup: Santorum 35, Romney 27 in National Poll

Republican hopeful Rick Santorum is leading Mitt Romney in the latest national poll.

A new Gallup poll shows Santorum taking  35 percent of Republican voters nationwide, compared with 27 percent for Romney, 15 percent for Newt Gingrich, and 10 percent for Ron Paul.

In a contest against President Barack Obama registered voters are closely divided  between Barack Obama and Romney, and between Obama and Santorum.

Romney is slightly ahead of Obama, 50 percent to 46 percent while Obama edges Santorum, 49 percent to 48 percent, but neither of these differences is statistically significant, Gallup reports. The poll was conducted Feb. 17-21.