The Hill News

Mitt Romney might have drawn jeers for joking that he was embracing "grits" and saying "y'all" ahead of next Tuesday's Deep South primaries, but if his lead in Mississippi holds, Romney might be able to credit the Magnolia State with locking up his nomination.

The former Massachusetts governor was the choice of 35 percent of likely Mississippi primary voters according to the latest Rasmussen poll, released Friday, good enough for an 8-point lead over Rick Santorum. The former Pennsylvania senator earned the support of 27 percent of voters, tied with Newt Gingrich for second place. Ron Paul rounded out the field with 6 percent of those surveyed.

That's a surprising lead for Romney in a state he admitted was "a bit of an away game." An American Research Group, also released Friday, showed Gingrich with a 4-point lead over Romney, with Rick Santorum a full 15 points behind.

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