Mitt Romney has a massive lead over the rest of the Republican field in New York, according to a Sienna College Research Institute poll released on Tuesday.

Romney leads with 51 percent, followed by Rick Santorum at 18 percent, Ron Paul at 11 percent and Newt Gingrich at 6 percent.

“As the Republican Party leadership has rallied behind Romney, so too it appears, have Republican voters in New York,” said Sienna pollster Steven Greenberg in a statement. “Romney has extended the 15-point lead over Santorum he held last month to a now nearly three-to-one 33-point lead.”

But even if Romney’s lead holds in New York, it will likely only benefit him during the primary. Romney’s favorability numbers are well underwater in the Empire State, at 35 percent favorable and 57 unfavorable, and he trails President Obama 60 percent to 35 in a head-to-head match-up.

Obama’s favorability rating in New York is essentially the inverse of Romney’s, at 58 percent favorable and 39 unfavorable, although the president’s job-approval rating is negative, with 45 percent saying they approve versus 54 who disapprove.

New York Republicans will cast their ballots on April 24, along with four other states, including three in the Northeast — Rhode Island, Connecticut and Delaware — where Romney has consistently outperformed the rest of the GOP field.

The fifth state to vote on that day is Santorum’s home state of Pennsylvania, where one recent poll shows Romney has taken the lead.

If the former Pennsylvania senator can’t hold his home state, he’ll likely hear increased calls to drop out of the race, but if he can make it to May, the primary calendar turns back in his favor, with contests in the Midwest, Deep South and Plains states.

(Source: The Hill)