Voices From the Poll - NYTimes.com A New York Times/CBS News poll released Tuesday found that support from conservatives, evangelical Christians and Tea Party supporters has propelled Rick Santorum into the lead among the Republican nominees for president. With 30 percent support among Republican primary voters nationwide, Mr. Santorum is essentially running even with Mitt Romney, who had the support of 27 percent. Poll results also highlighted the lack of stability in the field. Over 6 in 10 Republican primary voters said they wished there was more choice of candidates, and nearly the same number said their minds were not made up, even though a number of nominating contests are already over. And many Republican primary voters lack conviction in their choice. Most of Mr. Romney's backers said they liked him, but with reservations, and nearly half of Mr. Santorum's supporters also had reservations about him. In follow-up interviews with participants in the poll, Mr. Santorum and Mr. Romney supporters discussed the reasons behind their pick for the Republican nomination. Jonathan Reed, 52, is a salesman in Sylvester, Ga: Truthfully. I like a lot of what Ron Paul has to say but I don't like his foreign policy. ... I would say I'm a former Republican who feels the Republican Party has lost its way and now I'm no longer willing to just vote for someone because they say they are Republican. If there were a better candidate out there who was not a Republican, I would vote for him. Unfortunately, Obama is not that man. I wish someone else would enter the race. It's hard to say who, but I would vote for Allen West (a Republican congressman from Florida) in a second. Bob Smith, a 52-year-old salesman from Columbus, Mo., said he had chosen Rick Santorum because he was not Mitt Romney: I chose Santorum because of social issues. I think Romney being Mormon has something to do with that choice, but I'm not saying I wouldn't vote for Romney if he were the candidate. I'll vote for any Republican rather than Barack Obama. To be honest with you, I don't like anything Obama does. The country is going in the wrong direction. Pauline Richardson, 84, is a retired operator from Orangeburg, S.C.: I'm just an old lady and I don't understand it all. I'm going to have to wait until closer to when the time comes to know who I am going to vote for. At this point I prefer Rick Santorum because he's a good family man and he's very conservative. I just like what he says, but I haven't made up my mind by a long shot. I'm almost sure I would vote for any Republican, though I would prefer it to be Santorum. Pam Vanderbaan, 67, a retired administrative assistant from Indianapolis, is an independent who is opting for Mr. Santorum: At this point Rick Santorum is the candidate we feel is closest to what we need. I'm almost a Tea Party conservative. I'm very tired of the debt. Social issues are not government issues and I want the candidates to say the government is going to be there to build roads and take care of things we really need. I've been a Christian my whole life and we give heartily to the needy, but it takes away any zest when taxes are used to take care of anybody now. I am also sick of their lumping Social Security with entitlements because it's not. Social Security may have grown into an entitlement because it's used for so many other things. People have paid into Social Security for a good 10 years of their retirement. Maybe if you outlive your retirement by many years it becomes an entitlement, but not at first. I could have invested my money and made a lot more. I will vote for any Republican candidate because the alternative is so off the wall. There is no chance I would vote for Obama. He is nothing but a welfare state. I wish Santorum would come out stronger. And I wish they'd just stop fighting among themselves. It started way too early and is going on way too long. Sarah Kilpatrick, 29, in Fayetteville, Ark., runs a day care business. She says she would like to see Mr. Romney nominated, but hasn't made up her mind: First of all, I'm a die-hard Republican. Even if I don't care for any of them, I'll vote for that person anyway, because the Republicans do more for moral and values issues, in the long run. In addition to being a big supporter of the Republican Party, I'm very conservative on social issues, and Mitt Romney seems to have a more conservative view than others. But a lot can change between now and voting time. There is so much that needs to be fixed, in my opinion: Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid need a lot of reform. I want somebody that is going to be trying to fix the problems long term, rather than quick fixes. And I don't think that higher taxes are going to solve the problem - typically that hurts the middle class and those are the ones already struggling. Martha Traylor, 68, a homemaker in Durham, N.C., likes Mr. Romney because of his electability, but has some reservations: I feel that he probably is the only candidate that will be able to beat Obama, and I will vote for anybody that can beat Barack Obama. If Marmaduke were running, I would vote for Marmaduke. Obama is driving this country into the ground. I'm not worried that he's wealthy. People of wealth can provide jobs. And people without wealth have to have someone to emulate. You can't get a job from a poor man. If you don't have wealth it's hard to hire people. Newt Gingrich is a historian, and if you don't learn from history you're doomed to repeat it - he's probably the best one to bring us out of this mess, but he doesn't have a chance to beat Obama. Santorum is not pit bull enough; he just seems rather passive. I really think that I could support Mitt Romney or Newt, without any reservations at all. The New York Times/CBS News poll found that 3 in 10 Republican primary voters said Mitt Romney was not conservative enough; but for 21-year-old Daniel Wiechart of Danville, Ky., who is preparing to enter law school, Mr. Romney's even-toned stance is what appeals to him: The main reason I like Mitt Romney is because he's a moderate. He's got a conservative side, but he's got some progressiveness in him. I like him compared to the other candidates because he's different. Newt Gingrich is your classic Republican conservative guy, and that's not been super effective in the past. Romney can get some liberal ideas in there, even though he's mostly conservative. I guess you could say he can add some nuts to the ice cream. I don't think Romney can ever fully understand middle-class America, because he didn't grow up that way. But because of his business background, he can understand the needs of middle-class workers, and give them the opportunities they need to succeed.