Romney surges before Super Tuesday A late surge in support for Mitt Romney has raised expectations that the Republican frontrunner can quash doubts about his candidacy on Super Tuesday, the biggest day of the 2012 nomination race. However, even as he begins to win more support among conservative voters, there are signs that Barack Obama is pulling away from Mr Romney and the other Republican contenders in head-to-head matchups with the president. Of the 10 states up for grabs today, Mr Romney is well placed to win at least five and possibly more, according to the latest polls, which would increase the pressure on other candidates to drop out. Mr Romney needs to force his main rivals, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich, out of the race as quickly as possible, as the prolonged contest is draining his campaign of money and the support of independent voters. "Ohio feels like Michigan," a state Mr Romney won narrowly last week, said Eric Fehrnstrom, a longtime Romney adviser. He was 11 points behind a week ago and now he is surging. Mr Romney's campaign has regained momentum after winning the caucus in Washington state on Saturday, his fifth straight victory. But an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll published on Monday recorded Mr Romney trailing Mr Obama by six points, triple the gap in the same survey in December. Mr Obama's rising status follows a period of better economic news and an increasing focus by the political right on social issues, including contraception, religion and abortion. The divisiveness of such issues has been on display following comments by Rush Limbaugh, the conservative radio host, who labelled a law student who had campaigned for healthcare coverage of contraception a "slut" and a "prostitute." He apologised at the weekend. Mr Romney, in a dig at Mr Santorum, whose campaign is known for its conservative stances on abortion and religion, said "a lot of issues" had been discussed in the campaign "but I keep bringing it back to jobs and the economy." With polls leaning toward Mr Romney, Mr Santorum touted his rust belt roots in Pennsylvania, presenting himself as strong on the economy before a packed crowd at the Dayton Christian School in Ohio. "This is an opportunity for Ohio to stand up for the values that made this country great," he said, citing the US Constitution and Declaration of Independence as reasons for US superiority. "Any one of us can go to France for 50 years and never be a Frenchman but someone from France can come here and be an American from day one," Mr Santorum said. However, he also lowered expectations about today's vote, saying the ballot would be "tough for us" because of Mr Romney's financial advantage. Regardless of Tuesday's results, Mr Santorum plans to continue campaigning aggressively in the next states to vote. He will air a new television ad in Alabama on Wednesday and will hold rallies in Missouri and Mississippi.