Democrat Robert P. Casey Jr. holds a 14-percentage-point lead over Republican Sen. Rick Santorum in the 2006 campaign for Santorum's seat, according to an independent poll released today.

Casey, Pennsylvania's state treasurer, was favored by 49 percent of the respondents in the Quinnipiac University poll, compared to 35 percent for Santorum. Thirteen percent were undecided.

The widening of Casey's lead, from 46-41 percent in a Quinnipiac survey in February, comes on the heels of Santorum's high-profile advocacy of President Bush's Social Security overhaul plan.

More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.