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TUCSON - Tea Partiers and Rick Santorum supporters have turned out in droves for the first public appearance of the GOP Presidential hopeful in Tucson this morning.

Senator Santorum, who recently surged to front-runner status among voters nationally, will speak at the Sabbar Shrine Center at noon, at an event organized by the Tucson Tea Party.

News 4 Tucson's Lorraine Rivera was there to snap this photo of attendees lined up outside the building.

Santorum will be joining other GOP presidential candidates tonight at a CNN-hosted debate in Phoenix. Arizona's Presidential Preference Election will be held on Tuesday, February 28.

Recent polls indicate that while most Arizona voters support Romney, his recent surge may have spread here, as well. According to a MSNBC.com poll, among those who have voted early or absentee in Arizona, more than half of all likely GOP voters in the poll, Romney leads Santorum by 30 points, 52%-22%. But his lead is just one point among those who haven't voted yet, 34%-33%.

Tune in to News 4 Tucson this evening for a full report on Santorum's appearance in Tucson.