Gallup: Romney support at 40 pct

PRINCETON, N.J., March 23 (UPI) -- The latest Gallup poll Friday indicated Mitt Romney has the support of 40 percent of Republicans in the battle for the GOP's U.S. presidential nomination.

It is first time a U.S. presidential candidate has reached that level in this campaign.

The result came in the same week Romney posted a convincing victory in the Illinois primary and won the endorsement of Jeb Bush. It also gives him a double digit lead over Rich Santorum, his closest competitor for the GOP presidential nomination.

The poll put Santorum's support at 26 percent, followed by Newt Gingrich at 14 percent and Ron Paul at 8 percent.

The poll was conducted Sunday through Thursday among 1,157 Republican or Republican-leaning voters. The sampling error was put at 4 percentage points with 95 percent confidence.