GOP Women Increasingly Sweet on Santorum

Rick Santorum's controversial positions on issues like birth control and prenatal screening haven't alienated women voters, contrary to predictions, a Washington Post poll finds. Santorum's favorability rating among Republican women has surged over the last few weeks to 57%, just four points below Romney's. Even among Democratic and independent women voters, Santorum isn't quite as unpopular as Romney or Newt Gingrich, according to the poll.

Santorum often talks about his family, which appeals to women, and Republican strategists say they have found women voters are less turned off by his positions on women's health issues than they are by other candidates' failure to focus on the economy. "What I find is that women tend to be remarkably practical in these conversations,” one strategist says. “How is this going to impact the daily lives of myself and my family, at the very practical level?" (More Election 2012 stories.)