Rick Santorum is undergoing in his home state of Pennsylvania an experience similar to what Jesus encountered in his hometown of Nazareth. Both found it easier to win support in areas further away and more difficult to win over those who they grew up with.

Jesus was raised the son of a carpenter and most likely knew everyone is his small hometown. After leaving home as a young man to begin his earthly ministry, he returned to Nazareth to preach in the synagogue only to find doubt and little support from those who supposedly knew him best.

Pennsylvania native Rick Santorum may now understand how Jesus felt as a new poll shows the former senator now losing his home state to former Massachusetts governor and GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney.

In the latest Public Policy Poll in Pennsylvania, Romney is now leading Santorum 42 to 37 percent, however the margin of error is +/- 4.9%, thus making the race a virtual dead heat.

Nonetheless, Santorum’s struggles in Pennsylvania may be magnifying the core issue that many GOP voters doubt that he could defeat President Obama in a general election and that Romney has a much better chance.

“The momentum in Pennsylvania is moving completely against Rick Santorum,” said Dean Debnam, PPP’s president in a written statement. “Mitt Romney has a great chance to deliver a final crushing blow to his campaign on April 24. A home state loss would be incredibly embarrassing for Santorum.”

According to the poll, only 36% of GOP voters think Santorum has a realistic chance at the nomination to 54% who believe he does not. And when it comes to matching up against Barack Obama in the fall only 24% of Republicans think Santorum would provide their best chance for a victory while 49% think that designation belongs to Romney.

Political analyst view a Romney win in Pennsylvania as not only a setback, but also a huge blow for Santorum if he wanted to run for any office in the future. Although Santorum served a total of sixteen years in Congress, his devastating, 16-point loss in 2006 left some wondering if he was the right person to take on Obama in 2012.

“We have to win here, and we plan on winning here,” Santorum said on Wednesday while campaigning in Pennsylvania. “People in Pennsylvania know me. All of the negative attacks, I think, are going to fall on a lot of deaf ears here, and we’ve got a strong base of support here.”

Meanwhile, the Romney campaign is sensing an opportunity to upstage Santorum in his home state and they are showcasing a list of Keystone GOP Leaders who have endorsed the former Massachusetts governor.

The list includes former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge, former Gov. Mark Schweiker, Rep. Jim Gerlach, Rep. Bill Shuster, Rep. Charlie Dent and Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick to name a few.

Romney made a campaign swing through Pennsylvania on Wednesday and stopped in Broomall to rally a group of suburban GOP moderates who have made up the base of his support thus far. Romney is campaigning in Scranton and Harrisburg today.

Sen. Santorum has chosen to take Easter weekend off to rest, worship and spent time with his family prior resuming his campaign schedule in his home state on Monday.

He’ll also be trying to figure out how to win Nazareth, PA.