The Hill News

Top Obama political strategist David Axelrod painted Rick Santorum as a fringe candidate who voters are not yet very familiar with.

Speaking on CBS's This Morning on Wednesday, Axelrod said the former Pennsylvania senator's economic policies were unlikely to win over voters.

"I think when people really examine his economic policies, I don't think the average working person in this economy is going to look at his economic policies and say 'yeah, that's the ticket for me. That offers great hope for me.'" Axelrod said. "Secondly, I think many of the issues he takes on social issues are quite divisive. Not widely shared. People don't really know Senator Santorum particularly well and when they do we'll get a better sense of where he stands."

After a trio of victories in Republican primary contests in Colorado, Minnesota, and Missouri Santorum has skyrocketed to the front of the Republican presidential field in the polls and is either polling! close or ahead of Mitt Romney nationally and in a number of primary states, including Michigan where the former Massachusetts governor was previously expected to sweep.

Santorum plans on focusing much of his campaign efforts there and hopes to undercut Romney's campaign and nourish his surge in the polls.

Elsewhere, a new Quinnipiac poll found Santorum leading Romney by 7 points in Ohio's GOP primary, about two weeks before the contest.