The American Spectator

According to sources inside the Associated Press, the AP’s latest national Republican Presidential poll went under way on Monday night.

By Wednesday afternoon, some raw numbers began rolling in, and analysts were surprised by the initial take.

“If things keep progressing the way they do, some GOPers are in for a surprise,” says one Associated Press employee familiar with the statistics being broken down.

Sources say that if respondents continue to, well, respond, as they have on Monday into Tuesday, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will knock Sen. John McCain out of second place in the national poll and take sole possession of the second slot.

“The pace of response for him was clearly different from where it was last polling cycle,” says another source. “We’ll have to see if the results hold, but if they do, Romney supporters are in for a nice surprise. His media and other investments, as well as his debate performances, seem to be working.”

According to sources inside other campaigns who are monitoring Romney’s media buys, the man from Massachusetts has radio or TV ads or both up in as many as 22 states, depending on the week.