Findings: Nationally, Romney is suddenly way ahead of Santorum among Republicans, getting 40 percent to Santorum's 24 percent.

Pollster: Rasmussen

Methodology: Robo-calls to 1,000 likely Republican primary voters on February 29.

Why it matters: It's the first poll since Romney's victories in Michigan and Arizona. Earlier this month, Rasmussen found Santorum polling at 39 percent, Romney at 27 percent. As The Hill's Christian Heinze points out, when voters chose just between those two candidates, Romney crushes Santorum 50 percent to 38 percent. Michigan might have been Santorum's "last opportunity to deliver a knockout blow" to Romney, The New York Times' Nate Silver writes, because it "could have provided unambiguous evidence that the Republican electorate was rejecting him." Only a couple states, Illinois and Maryland, could come close to having the same "narrative consequences," Silver says.

Caveat: Rasmussen leans right.

Findings: Santorum's way ahead of Romney -- 40 percent to 19 percent -- in Tennessee. Gingrich has just 13 percent, and Paul has 11 percent.

Pollster: Middle Tennessee State University

Methodology: Telephone interviews of 646 Tennessee Republicans from February 13 to February 25.

Why it matters: Super Tuesday is Gingrich's last stand. He's said he must win neighboring Georgia. But he needs to do well in more than one state, obviously. Romney thinks he can at least get some delegates from those states -- he's campaigning there this weekend, ABC News reports.

Caveat: The poll was conducted before Romney won in Michigan and Arizona -- and even partly before the last primary debate.

Findings: Most Americans think colleges have a positive impact on the country, including most Republicans and the plurality of conservative Republicans. Conservatives are the most likely to think colleges have a negative impact, with 39 percent of them holding that view, but still, 46 percent think colleges better the nation. Among independents, 61 percent think colleges do some good.

Pollster: Pew Research Center

Methodology: Survey of 1,501 adults nationwide from February 8 to February 12.

Why it matters: Rick Santorum called President Obama a "snob" for saying all Americans should pursue at least a year of higher education. While the benefits of calling Democrats snooty have been known for years, being anti-college doesn't appear to be a winning strategy. That's probably why Santorum has suddenly started talking about all the post-grad degrees earned by his grandmother. Even so, he was booed at Belmont University Thursday, ABC News reports.

Caveat: Higher ed is not going to be a big issue in the election.

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.

We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.