GOP interest in presidential race slips as Obama leads GOP challengers

{mosads}But it could also be attributed to a relatively mellow February that featured no presidential debates and few delegate-awarding contests, a severe change of pace after a tumultuous and hectic January campaign.

Still, President Obama tops 50 percent of Americans in match-ups against any of the four Republican challengers, a promising sign for the president months out from what could be a tough reelection battle. Romney comes closest to challenging the president, trailing by eight points; Santorum is nine percentage points back, while Gingrich and Paul both trail by double digits.

Nevertheless, there were some encouraging signs for Santorum. Despite a number of controversial statements made as the poll was being taken, the former Pennsylvania senator still ran even with Mitt Romney among both Republican men and women. And Santorum has largely retained his favorable opinion among the Republican base, with three-quarters of GOP women and two-thirds of GOP men holding a positive impression of him.