Republican support of Limbaugh plummets in Georgia, Ohio and Tennessee

Republican's view of conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh has fallen deeply in the wake of misogynistic remarks he made about a Georgetown University law student.

Less than half of Republicans in Georgia, Ohio and Tennessee have a favorable opinion of Limbaugh, according to Public Policy Polling. The last time PPP surveyed his popularity nationally, 80 percent of Republicans had a favorable opinion of him, while only 12 percent had an unfavorable opinion.

The three states are holding caucuses and primaries on Tuesday, along with Alaska, Idaho, Oklahoma, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Virginia, and Vermont.

His favorability rating among women is even lower. In Ohio, 39 percent of Republican women have a favorable opinion of Limbaugh. In Tennessee, 36 percent of Republican women have a favorable opinion.

Limbaugh has faced a public backlash for calling Georgetown University law student a "slut" and "prostitute" on air because of her testimony in Congress about contraception.

In her testimony, Fluke described how Georgetown’s insurance policy failed to cover hormonal contraceptives that are used to treat polycystic ovarian syndrome. She explained that her friend could not afford the hormonal contraceptives she needed to prevent ovarian cysts from forming because her university refused to pay for them on religious grounds.

But on his show, Limbaugh accused Fluke of not being able to afford contraception because she was “having so much sex" and later demanded that women post sex tapes online if they use insurance-covered birth control.

David Frum, formerly a special assistant to President George W. Bush, has called on conservatives to stop trying to defend Limbaugh by pointing out misogynistic remarks made by liberals.

"I can't recall anything as brutal, ugly and deliberate ever being said by such a prominent person and so emphatically repeated," he wrote at CNN on Monday. "This was not a case of a bad 'word choice.' It was a brutally sexualized accusation, against a specific person, prolonged over three days."