On Wednesday, the four Republican candidates debated in Mesa, Arizona, as a prelude to the Feb. 28 Arizona primary election. Michigan is holding its primary on Feb. 28 as well. The outcomes of these elections should give us a better idea who the front-runner actually is.

Illinois' primary is on March 20, and Patch will post one of these polls each week, with the hope of tracking the changing political landscape. So far, Barack Obama has taken each of our polls, if only by a few votes. Newt Gingrich, who once dominated, only scored one vote last week. And Ron Paul surprisingly motored into first place among Republicans last week.