Santorum's Support Among GOP Women Grows

It turns out Rick Santorum’s uber-conservative stance on abortion issues and birth control hasn’t alienated Republican women. In fact, his support among the GOP's fairer sex has only strengthened in recent weeks as those issues have taken center stage in the national debate.

A new Washington Post-ABC poll reveals a 13-point increase in his favorability rating among Republican women since January. At 57 percent, the former Pennsylvania senator is now only 4 points behind Mitt Romney among that potentially key demographic. Romney, meanwhile, has a higher negative rating among GOP women than his rival—28 percent to 18 percent—and Romney's negative ratings are currently trending upward.

It is not clear, however, that Santorum's take on reproductive issues is the reason behind his upswing. Strategists note that his campaign has attempted to focus the conversation largely on the economy and that the social conservative has made a point of attempting to win over middle-class women in particular.

The Post explains:

His campaign, too, has taken pains to cast his policies in a woman-friendly light, issuing a policy statement that describes his mother as the “primary breadwinner” when he was growing up and his wife as a lawyer, nurse and author.

“Rick knows firsthand what it means to run the carpool, pick up the kids from practice, help with homework and drop them off at their friends’ houses, all while trying to get to work on time or home for dinner with the family,” the statement reads.