Polls show Michigan's primary volatility

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Feb. 27 (UPI) -- The battle between Republican presidential hopefuls Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum was too close to call on the eve of Michigan's primary, polls indicated.

Three polls showed how tight the race is between Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, and Santorum, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, the Detroit Free Press reported.

The primary is Tuesday.

A Mitchell Research/Rosetta Stone poll conducted for the Michigan Information & Research Service indicated Santorum topped Romney, 37 percent to 35 percent, with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich collecting 9 percent and U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas receiving 8 percent. The survey of 420 likely GOP primary voters was conducted Monday and has a margin of error of 4.7 percentage points.

Public Policy Polling had Romney ahead of Santorum 39 percent to 37 percent, with 13 percent saying they favored Paul and 9 percent saying they backed Gingrich. The survey of 421 likely Republican primary voters was conducted Sunday. The margin of error is 4.8 percentage points.

A poll by Foster McCollum White & Associates indicated Romney held a 39-31 lead over Santorum, with Gingrich and Paul tied at 9 percent. The poll was conducted Thursday among 2,416 likely Republican primary voters. The margin of error is 2.1 percentage points.