Generic Republican Candidate 45%, Obama 42%
For the second week in a row, a generic Republican candidate edges President Obama 45% to 42% among Likely U.S. Voters in a hypothetical 2012 election matchup, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
Three percent (3%) favor some other candidate, and 10% remain undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
In weekly surveys since the beginning of May, support for both the president and a generic Republican have remained in the narrow range of 42% to 45%. Rasmussen Reports will provide new data on this generic matchup each week until the field of prospective Republican nominees narrows to a few serious contenders.
Interestingly, however, while 54% of voters view Obama as qualified to be president, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is the only Republican 2012 hopeful that a sizable number of voters considers qualified for the White House. Forty-nine percent (49%) say Romney is qualified to be president.
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The national survey of 3,500 Likely Voters was conducted May 30-June 5, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 2 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
In every matchup tested so far this year against potential GOP challengers, the president’s support has stayed between 42% and 49%. An incumbent who earns support below 50% is generally considered politically vulnerable. The president’s total job approval ratings are a good indicator of what percentage of the vote he may earn in the 2012 presidential race. Aside from a brief bounce in support following the killing of Osama bin Laden, Obama’s approval ratings have hovered in the high 40s for the past 18 months. The president earns support from 79% of Democrats, while 84% of GOP voters favor a generic Republican candidate. Voters not affiliated with either political party are evenly divided.
Among men, the generic Republican holds an eight-point advantage over Obama, while the two candidates are almost tied among women. Those under the age of 40 heavily favor the incumbent, while their elders support the Republican candidate. Middle-income voters give the nod to the generic GOP candidate.
Fifty-two percent (52%) of white voters back the Republican. Most blacks (96%) and the plurality (44%) of voters of other races favor Obama.
A majority of voters continue to feel that tax cuts and decreases in government spending will help the U.S. economy. But most voters believe government spending will increase under the Obama administration, and only seven percent (7%) think their taxes will go down on his watch.
Most voters continue to favor repeal of the national health care law passed last year and believe the legislation will increase the federal deficit.
As they have since June 2009, Republicans lead Democrats on the weekly Generic Congressional Ballot.
But voters for the first time feel the agenda of congressional Republicans is nearly as extreme as that of Democrats in Congress.
A full demographic breakdown and historical trends are available to Platinum Members only.
Please sign up for the Rasmussen Reports daily e-mail update (it’s free) or follow us on Twitter or Facebook. Let us keep you up to date with the latest public opinion news.
No comments:
Post a Comment