The Hill News

Newt Gingrich is leading the Republican field in a new poll of Oklahoma, partially validating the campaign's belief that Super Tuesday could provide a chance for the House Speaker to claw his way back into the race for the Republican nomination.

Gingrich was the choice of 34 percent of voters in the American Research Group poll, edging Mitt Romney's 31 percent. Rick Santorum was third with 16 percent, while Ron Paul rounded out the field with 10 percent.

Gingrich's lead expands among likely voters who say they will "definitely" vote in the Super Tuesday primary, where he edges Romney 36 percent to 31 percent. The former Speaker also holds sizable leads among men, besting Romney by 10 percentage points, and those who identify as supporters of the Tea Party movement. Among the 51 percent of state Republicans who identify themselves as Tea Party supporters, Gingrich holds a 20 percentage point lead. Romney, however, leads the unaffiliated - and likely ! more centrist - half of Republicans in the state by a 36 percent to 22 percent margin.

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