Pew poll: In matchup with Obama, Romney holds advantage among independent voters
WASHINGTON – Mitt Romney is running neck-and-neck with President Obama, although the former Massachusetts governor holds a considerable advantage among independent voters, according to a poll released today by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.
The survey found that 49 percent of Americans said they would vote for or lean toward Obama, compared with 47 percent for Romney. Pew found similar results last month, when 48 percent of respondents backed each candidate.
By comparison, Obama holds double-digit leads over GOP candidates Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich, and Herman Cain.
But when it comes to the ever crucial bloc of independent voters, Romney trumps Obama by a 12-point margin – 53 percent to 41 percent. Independents in 2012 could be especially critical in tipping the scales in such battleground states as Florida, Ohio, and Virginia, all of which went for Obama last time around but have since been deemed toss-ups. When matched up with the other top GOP candidates, Obama leads among independents by at least slight margins.
Romney, who is widely considered to be the frontrunner for his party’s nomination, has been dogged by a perceived lack of enthusiasm on the campaign trail. He has struggled to garner slightly more than 25 percent support in the polls, conducted Nov. 9-14, among Republican voters, despite largely leading the pack so far.
(Pew found that 23 percent of Republican respondents want Romney to win the nomination, followed by Herman Cain with 22 percent and Newt Gingrich with 16 percent.)
Still, 87 percent of GOP voters said they would back Romney, and 76 percent said they would strongly support him in a bid for the White House.
Obama’s job approval rating, meanwhile, has modestly improved from 43 percent to 46 percent this month. The economy, not surprisingly, remains his biggest stumbling block on his path to reelection. Nearly six-in-ten Americans disapproved of the president’s handling of the economy, compared with just 35 percent who approve.
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