Oklahoma Primary 2012 Outlook: Rick Santorum Hopes For Super Tuesday Win

The Oklahoma primary is on Super Tuesday, and former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum is hoping to triumph over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in the Sooner State.

Oklahoma has 43 delegates, 40 of which are bound by the results of the presidential contest. In the Super Tuesday battleground, delegates are allocated proportionally based on the results of the contest.

HuffPost's Mark Blumenthal reports on the polling situation in Oklahoma:

Polls have been more sparse in Oklahoma. A live-interviewer telephone poll conducted late last week by the American Research Group finds Rick Santorum holding a 11-point lead over Mitt Romney (37 to 26 percent), followed by Gingrich (22 percent) and Paul (9 percent). A YouGov Internet poll conducted earlier in the week gave Santorum a smaller margin over Romney (38 to 30 percent).

Nevertheless, the Joplin Globe reports:

Among Republicans in Ottawa County, party chairman Jay Calan said, the contest could go to Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich.

“It has been the craziest primary I’ve ever seen,” Calan said. “One day someone will tell me they’re for Santorum, and the next day they’re for Gingrich. I have never seen anybody lock on strong to a candidate.”

The AP notes that Oklahoma is considered by many to be the "reddest of the red."

Nine other states will hold primary and caucus contests on Tuesday, including: Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Ohio, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia.

Check out the slideshow below for more on the Santorum campaign.