The news is good for Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich and bad for Rick Santorum in PPP's final polls of the three biggest Super Tuesday states.
Mitt Romney is consolidating his chances to put Rick Santorum away and gain traction tomorrow, in a series of Super Tuesday polls from Public Policy Polling (here's the full poll .pdf).
Here's the bottom line, right up front:
In Ohio Romney leads with 37% to 36% for Santorum, 15% for Gingrich, and 11% for Ron Paul.
In Tennessee Santorum leads with 34% to 29% for Romney, 27% for Gingrich, and 8% for Paul.
In Georgia Gingrich leads with 47% to 24% for Romney, 19% for Santorum, and 8% for Paul.
A week ago Santorum had a huge lead in Tennessee, a decent sized one in Ohio, and seemed like he had a good chance for second in Georgia. Now he's barely holding on in Tennessee, ever so slightly behind in Ohio, and seems doomed for third in Georgia.
Romney's fortunes have swung the other direction. What was looking like a runner up finish in Ohio is looking more like a win with each passing day. He has an outside chance at pulling off an upset win in Tennessee. And it looks like he'll finish a solid second in Georgia.
The PPP polls have more details for each individual state, but while Ohio is a must win for Santorum, a strong Romney second place there won't change the dynamics much. And while it won't be over after tomorrow, there's an increasing chance that, unless Santorum pulls it out in Ohio, for all practical purposes, Romney will be seen as the nominee.
PPP surveyed 728 likely Republican primary voters in Georgia, 666 in Ohio, and 525 in Tennessee on March 3rd and 4th. The margins of error for the surveys are +-3.6%, +-3.8%, and +/-4.3% respectively. This poll was not paid for or authorized by any campaign or political organization. PPP surveys are conducted through automated telephone interviews.
7:20 AM PT (Jed Lewison): Quinnipiac has Mitt Romney moving ahead of Rick Santorum, 34-31.