Casey opens 14 point lead on Santorum

If only the election were held today:

Democratic state Treasurer Robert P. Casey Jr., who hopes to challenge Republican Sen. Rick Santorum next year, increased his lead to 14 points in a poll released Wednesday.

Casey, the son of a former governor, was favored in the Quinnipiac University poll, taken amid Santorum's high-profile push of President Bush's Social Security overhaul plan and his backing of the recent congressional intervention in the Terri Schiavo case.

Casey was favored by 49 percent of respondents in the telephone poll, conducted April 13 to Monday. Thirty-five percent supported Santorum, while 13 percent were undecided.

Close to a third of those polled cited Santorum's role in the Terri Schiavo affair and the Social Security debate as making them less likely to vote for him.

To add to his woes, Santorum is now suggesting to party leaders that they delay the "nuclear option" in the Senate due to bad polling numbers, a stance we have seen others savaged for by the more conservative blogger.

Rick's in a world of political hurt right now, anxious to sell himself to the far right but now concerned about the impact of something designed to appeal to them as well. Don't be surprised to see Santorum's numbers drop even further unless he can figure out a way out from his self created trap.