Santorum recently has made gains in the presidential race by winning the primaries in states such as Colorado and Minnesota. Santorum’s lead in Michigan is a twist, considering Romney’s fairly consistent support in the state up to this point, PPP assistant director Dustin Ingalls said.

“We were as surprised as anyone that Santorum’s momentum carried him to such a huge lead,” Ingalls said.

Another poll of about 600 likely Republican primary voters in the state conducted by the American Research Group showed Santorum ahead of Romney with 33 percent, compared to Romney’s 27 percent.

Ingalls said the majority tide in the Lansing area hasn’t swung toward either Santorum or Romney, with the bulk of support at 30 percent for candidate Ron Paul compared to 27 percent for both Romney and Santorum.

Some students and experts said they remain skeptical of the poll’s results. Political science professor Paul Abramson said the poll results came as a shock to him, but he plans to wait and see if other sources confirm the data.

Abramson said there was the possibility of backlash against Santorum through advertisements in Michigan, but that could have negative ramifications for Romney considering his opponent’s recent surge of support.

“There’s no doubt that Romney still has much more money and could run negative advertising but that might be dangerous,” Abramson said.

Nick Kowalski, founder of the MSU Campus Conservatives and a Romney supporter, said the boost in Santorum’s popularity could have contributed to the newfound popularity in Michigan and likely would subside over time.

Kowalski said he still has full faith in Romney’s campaign and believes the candidate will take Michigan’s delegates.

“Romney’s been on the rise, although Santorum has picked up some ground,” Kowalski said. “He did win the primary in 2008 … the same will happen this time around.”