USA Today/Gallup Swing States poll: Romney and Obama tied

[BDKJMU]

"Swing States poll: Romney and Obama tied

WASHINGTON – Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney essentially ties Barack Obama in the nation's key battlegrounds, a USA TODAY/Gallup Swing States survey finds, while rival Newt Gingrich now trails the president by a decisive 14 percentage points.

That reflects a significant decline by the former House speaker since early December, when he led Obama by three points.

The poll of the dozen states likely to determine the outcome of November's election addresses the electability argument that has driven many Republicans: Which GOP contender has the best chance of denying Obama a second term?

In a head-to-head race, Romney leads Obama by a statistically insignificant percentage point, 48%-47%, the survey finds.

But Obama leads Gingrich, 54%-40%. The president's standing against him has risen nine points since early December; Gingrich has fallen by eight.

Gingrich fares less well than Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who trails Obama by seven points, 50%-43%, and former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, who also trails by seven points, 51%-44%.

"Gingrich's efforts to win the Republican nomination have set back his efforts to win the general election," says political scientist Larry Jacobs of the University of Minnesota. Trying to appeal to Tea Party conservatives has "moved him out of the mainstream of American politics."

The Swing States survey focuses on the nation's most competitive battlegrounds: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.

The findings presumably reflect the barrage of attacks on Gingrich's temperament and record by Romney and other prominent Republicans, from Arizona Sen. John McCain to former Senate majority leader Bob Dole. The former House speaker has drawn fierce fire since winning the South Carolina primary on Jan. 21 and surging to the top of national polls.

In Florida, which holds its primary Tuesday, Romney led Gingrich in a Marist Poll released Sunday by 15 points, 42%-27%.

Gingrich blamed his fall on negative TV ads aired by Romney and his allies. "He has a basic policy of carpet bombing his opponent," Gingrich said on Fox NewsSunday. "It has an effect."

Romney, campaigning in Naples, Fla., said Gingrich should "look in the mirror" to see why his support has dropped.

Voters in both parties rate Romney higher than Gingrich on a series of positive characteristics. Nearly six in 10 say Romney has the personality and leadership qualities a president should have; 42% say Gingrich has those qualities. Fifty percent call Romney sincere and authentic; 38% say that of Gingrich.

Neither does particularly well when asked whether they understand the problems Americans face in their daily lives: 44% of those surveyed say that applies to each.

The survey of 737 registered voters, taken Tuesday through Saturday, has a margin of error of +/- 5 percentage points.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/s ... 52871890/1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[BDKJMU]

In response to KY....

[Cap'n Cat]

In response to KY....

And a poor one at that, BD.

Four more years!!!

[kalm]

In Florida, which holds its primary Tuesday, Romney led Gingrich in a Marist Poll released Sunday by 15 points, 42%-27%.

Your article might be a little dated.

[BDKJMU]

In Florida, which holds its primary Tuesday, Romney led Gingrich in a Marist Poll released Sunday by 15 points, 42%-27%.

Your article might be a little dated.

3 weeks. Not that dated....

[kalm]

In Florida, which holds its primary Tuesday, Romney led Gingrich in a Marist Poll released Sunday by 15 points, 42%-27%.

Your article might be a little dated.

3 weeks. Not that dated....

Compared to skelly's and considering the turbulence of this race, the economic news, etc. it's ancient history. But nice try.

[BDKJMU]

3 weeks. Not that dated....

Compared to skelly's and considering the turbulence of this race, the economic news, etc. it's ancient history. But nice try.

It was actually about 2.5 weeks, 18 days old, when I posted it- not ancient history.

[Bronco]

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Obama trails three of four Republican candidates in latest Iowa Poll
2/18/12 | DSM Register

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/articl ... t-Iowa-Pol" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Bronco]

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A surprising poll in Washington State on 2/16

Barack Obama may look strong in contrast to the primary battle taking place, but that won’t last too long. And as a Survey USA poll of registered voters in one key Democratic state shows, Obama is far from strong at all:
9 months from Election Day, Barack Obama has a net approval rating of Minus 5 in Washington State, according to a SurveyUSA poll conducted exclusively for KING-TV Seattle.

42% today approve of the job he is doing as president, 47% disapprove. But: the number of Washington voters who say Obama has been a worse president than they expected is 2.5 times greater than the number who say Obama has been better than they expected. On specific aspects of his administration, Obama is:

* Plus 14 on his handling of Iraq.
* Minus 1 on his handling of Afghanistan.
* Minus 19 on his handling of the economy.
* Minus 20 on his handling of health care.
* Minus 26 on his handling of the federal deficit.

Obama’s job approval among Democrats and Republicans are perfect mirror images — 85/11 and 11/85, respectively. Among independents, though, he gets only a 37/47. Among Hispanics (8% of respondents), Obama gets a 40/24 — a very weak rating — and among Asians and other ethnicities (excluding whites, blacks, and Hispanics) comprising 11% of the respondents, it’s 42/49. Obama’s approval sinks badly among the age demos most likely to vote: among 50-64YOs, it’s 38/58, and only a little better among seniors, 44/52. Even among younger voters, Obama’s job approval is only 43/36 for 18-34YOs and 47/42 for 35-49YOs, indicating a significant lack of enthusiasm. Obama gets a weakly positive 46/41 among those earning below $40K, but a 37/52 from those earning above $40K.

Why is this important? Obama won the state of Washington by seventeen points in 2008, and it is a bastion of Democratic strength and enthusiasm. Let’s take a look at these same demos in the 2008 exit polls, to the extent they match up:

• 30-44YOs: Obama won 56/41 (too few 81/29YOs in 2008 to publish results)
• 50-64YOs: Obama won 60/38
• Voters who say economy was biggest issue (60% in 2008): Obama won 58/40
• Independents: Obama won 55/39
• Earn below $50K (35% of vote): Obama won 64/33
• Earn above $50K (65% of vote): Obama won 55/43

Those numbers indicated a much higher degree of enthusiasm, perhaps because Obama provided a blank slate instead of a record. Now that he has a record on which to run, the enthusiasm even in a Democratic bastion like Washington has entirely dissipated. That doesn’t mean Obama will necessarily lose the state in the fall, as that depends on the Republican candidate and the economy, and Washington will be a difficult state for Republicans to win anyway. But if Obama is at a -19 on the economy, a -20 on health care, and a -26 on the deficit in such a safe Democratic state like Washington, how well do people think he’s playing in swing states in the Rust Belt and the Midwest, where Republicans are more competitive?

Republicans need to have more faith in their agenda.

http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollRep ... 2a44668738" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[kalm]

Compared to skelly's and considering the turbulence of this race, the economic news, etc. it's ancient history. But nice try.

It was actually about 2.5 weeks, 18 days old, when I posted it- not ancient history.

In other news, Whitney Houston is due for a comeback album and Asian Americans can't play NBA basketball. Neither can I Harvard grads.