MANNS CHOICE, Pa. (AP) - Democrat Bob Casey's lead is shrinking over Republican Sen. Rick Santorum in one of the nation's hottest Senate races, a poll released Tuesday shows. Santorum has narrowed the gap from an 18-point difference in June, according to the poll, and a recent appearance of a Green Party candidate also is considered a spoiler for the Democrat.In a three-way contest, the new poll found Casey leading Santorum 45 percent to 39 percent, with Green Party candidate Carl Romanelli picking up 5 percent. Eleven percent said they were undecided or did not plan to vote. As a two-way race, without Romanelli, 47 percent of the same respondents favored Casey to 40 percent for Santorum, with 13 percent undecided.
The results of the poll, based on telephone interviews with 1,384 Pennsylvania registered voters from Aug. 8 through Monday, carry a sampling margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points. The June poll showing Casey leading Santorum by 18 points, 52 percent to 34 percent, was also conducted by Quinnipiac University.