Posted Jun 30, 2011 at 1:57 AM by Maurice Berger
A New York Times/CBS News poll reports that GOP voters are not at all enthusiastic for the pack of 2012 contenders for the Republican nomination for president: 70% of GOP voters now express dissatisfaction with their candidates and wish they had more choices. Even the presumptive frontrunners--Mitt
Romney and Rep. Michele Bachmann--could muster the enthusiasm of no more than 7% of Republican voters apiece.
Tagged: Election 2012, Republican nomination, Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann, Voter Enthusiasm
Posted Jun 29, 2011 at 2:12 AM by Maurice Berger
A Pew Research poll reports that "the public's economic optimism is now at its lowest point since July 2008, shortly before the financial crisis." According to the survey, 29% of respondents expect that economic conditions will be
better a year from now; 23% say things will be worse. Last
October, a considerable plurality of respondents said the economy would be better,
rather than worse, in a year (35% vs. 16%).
Tagged: Election 2012, economy, economic crisis, voter expectations
Posted Jun 28, 2011 at 1:53 AM by Maurice Berger
A just released Associated Press-GfK poll reports that Americans are virtually tied on the question of whether President Obama deserves re-election: 48% say yes, 47% no.
Tagged: Election 2012, President Barack Obama
Posted Jun 27, 2011 at 1:59 AM by Maurice Berger
Good news for Mitt Romney in the year's first Des Moines Register Iowa Poll on the Republican presidential field. While pundits have wondered whether Romney may be consrrvative enough to win the GOP Iowa Caucus, which tilts towards social conservatives, the poll has Romney in the lead at 23%. The bad news for the former Massachusetts Governor is that Michele Bachmann is nearly tied with him at 22% among likely Republican
caucus-goers. They are followed by Herman Cain at 10%, Newt Gingrich and
Ron Paul at 7%, Tim Pawlenty at 6%, Rick Santorum at 4% and Jon
Huntsman at 2%.
Tagged: Election 2012, Iowa Caucus, Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty, Iowa
Posted Jun 24, 2011 at 2:00 AM by Maurice Berger
In yet another problem for the incumbent president, The Fix examines the most recent state-by-state unemployment numbers and reports "that
in every one of the 14 swing states heading into 2012 -- Colorado,
Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New Hampshire,
Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin --
the unemployment rate has risen since October 2008."
Tagged: Election 2012, unemployment rate, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Indiana, Nevada, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, New Mexico
Posted Jun 23, 2011 at 1:24 AM by Maurice Berger
In what may become a looming problem for President Obama in his 2012 reelection effort, a new Gallup survey reports that Americans' satisfaction with the way things are going in the country
fell to just 20%; 78% of Americans are now dissatisfied with the nation's direction.
Tagged: Election 2012, President Barack Obama, Direction of Country
Posted Jun 22, 2011 at 1:40 AM by Maurice Berger
A new Field Poll in California reports: Mitt Romney "holds a solid lead over his
2012 GOP presidential rivals among the state's Republican voters . . . Romney is preferred by 25 percent of registered GOP voters, giving
the former Massachusetts governor a double-digit lead over each of his
challengers. Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, viewed as Romney's
leading competitor for the nomination, barely registered in the poll,
earning just 3 percent support . . .
Romney's closest competition comes from two candidates who haven't
even joined the race to deny Democratic President Obama a second term:
former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (17 percent), and former Alaska
Gov. Sarah Palin (10 percent). If Giuliani is taken out of the field,
Romney's lead widens - to 30 percent and a more than 2-to-1 lead over
Palin at 12 percent in second position, the poll shows."
Tagged: Election 2012, Republican nomination, California, Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, Ron Paul, Sarah Palin
Posted Jun 21, 2011 at 1:36 AM by Maurice Berger
Cbs News reports that "while unemployment among the general population is about 9.1 percent,
it's at 16.2 percent African Americans, and a bit higher still for
African American males . . . historically, the unemployment rate for African
Americans has always been higher than the national average. However, now
it's at Depression-era levels. The most recent figures show African
American joblessness at 16.2 percent. For black males, it's at 17.5
percent; And for black teens, it's nearly 41 percent."
Tagged: 2011, African-American voters, economy, economic crisis
Posted Jun 20, 2011 at 1:28 AM by Maurice Berger
Another poll in New Hampshire, this one from Magellan Strategies reports that Mitt Romney holds a substantial lead over all potential GOP primary
challengers with 42%: Rep. Ron Paul and Rep. Michelle
Bachmann are tied at 10%, Sarah Palin comes in at 7%, Rudy Giuliani at 6% and Tim Pawlenty
at 5%.
Tagged: Election 2012, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Michele Bachmann, Sarah Palin, Republican nomination
Posted Jun 17, 2011 at 2:30 AM by Maurice Berger
A just released Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll reports that Mitt Romney is considerably ahead in his quest for the 2012 GOP nomination for president: he now is at 30%, followed by Sarah Palin at 14%, Herman Cain at 12%,
Rick Perry at 8%, Ron Paul at 7%, Newt Gingrich at 6%, Tim Pawlenty and
Rick Santorum at 4% and Michele Bachmann at 3%. In a general election match up,
45% said they would probably vote to
re-elect President Obama; 40% would opt for a generic Republican candidate.
Against specific GOP contenders, the president's lead increased considerably, with Obama besting Romney, 49% to 43%.
Tagged: Election 2012, Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, President Barack Obama, Republican nomination, Tim Pawlenty, Ron Paul
Posted Jun 16, 2011 at 1:29 AM by Maurice Berger
In a good sign for Democrats, party affiliation has grown in recent months comparable to the GOP. A new Gallup poll finds 45% of Americans identified as Democrats last month as compared to 39% who identified as Republicans.
Tagged: 2011, Election 2012, Democratic Party, Republican Party, partisan identification
Posted Jun 15, 2011 at 1:57 AM by Maurice Berger
According to a new Gallup survey, all major subgroups of Americans thus far in 2011 have named either
"the economy" or unemployment as the nation's top problem, although not
necessarily in that order, according to an average of Gallup's monthly
Most Important Problem measures from January through May. Here is Gallup's chart:

Tagged: economic crisis, economy
Posted Jun 14, 2011 at 1:58 AM by Maurice Berger
A new survey by Public Policy Polling reports that virtually all of the potential GOP candidates for president remain unpopular in their home states: "We've done polls in Massachusetts and Minnesota over the last couple
weeks and found that Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, and Michele Bachmann are
all unpopular in their home states. That's par for the course with
this GOP Presidential field- we've polled on 9 of the candidates or
potential candidates in their home states and only one of them is well
liked- Gary Johnson in New Mexico."
Here's PPP's chart, from most popular to least popular:
Candidate (State)
|
Favorability
|
Net
|
Gary Johnson (New Mexico)
|
44/32
|
+12
|
Newt Gingrich (Georgia)
|
39/47
|
-8
|
Herman Cain (Georgia)
|
28/36
|
-8
|
Rick Perry (Texas)
|
42/50
|
-8
|
Rick Santorum (Pennsylvania)
|
37/47
|
-10
|
Mitt Romney (Massachusetts)
|
40/52
|
-12
|
Tim Pawlenty (Minnesota)
|
40/53
|
-13
|
Sarah Palin (Alaska)
|
33/58
|
-25
|
Michele Bachmann (Minnesota)
|
33/59
|
-26
|
Posted by
Tom Jensen at
9:36 AM
Tagged: Newt Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty, Michele Bachmann, Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, Republican nomination
Posted Jun 13, 2011 at 1:18 AM by Maurice Berger
A new poll reports that President Obama is struggling in his reelection bid in Pennsylvania: "It's no secret that President Obama is on the down-slope politically, and that includes the pivotal state of Pennsylvania. A new poll from Susquehanna Polling and Research says that 48% of
Pennsylvanians disapprove of Obama's performance, while 41% approve. Also:
Only 43% of registered voters in Pennsylvania say Obama has done well
enough to deserve re-election, the poll said; 50% say 'it is time to
give a new person a chance.'"
Tagged: Election 2012, Democratic Party, President Barack Obama, Pennsylvania
Posted Jun 09, 2011 at 9:14 PM by Maurice Berger
A CNN/Opinion Research poll reports that 58% of Americans oppose GOP Rep. Paul Ryan's Medicare
overhaul proposal; just 35% support it. Significantly, 54% of conservatives also oppose the plan. Republicans are split, with 50% opposing and 48% supporting.
Tagged: 2011, budget, Medicare
Posted Jun 08, 2011 at 4:42 PM by Maurice Berger
According to a new survey by Gallup, "more than 9 in 10 Americans still say "yes" when asked the basic
question "Do you believe in God?"; this is down only slightly from the
1940s, when Gallup first asked this question." Here is Gallup's historical chart:

Gallup continues: "Despite the many changes that have rippled through American society
over the last 6 ½ decades, belief in God as measured in this direct way
has remained high and relatively stable. Gallup initially used this
question wording in November 1944, when 96% said "yes." That percentage
dropped to 94% in 1947, but increased to 98% in several Gallup surveys
conducted in the 1950s and 1960s. Gallup stopped using this question
format in the 1960s, before including it again in Gallup's May 5-8
survey this year."
Tagged: 2011, religion
Posted Jun 07, 2011 at 3:03 AM by Maurice Berger
Two GOP Minnesota politicians are considering a race for president in 2012: Rep. Michele Bachmann and former Gov. Tim Pawlenty. What do the people of the state think about this. A new Public Policy Polling survey reports that Minnesota voters are, at best, cool to the idea: "Only 28% think Pawlenty should seek the White
House to 17% who think he should run for the Senate and 45% who think he
shouldn't run for anything. There's even less interest in a Bachmann
Presidential run -- 14% think she should seek that office to 23% who
think she should run for the Senate, 10% who think she should run for
reelection to her House seat, and 47% who just want her to go away."
Tagged: Election 2012, Republican nomination, Tim Pawlenty, Minnesota, Michele Bachmann
Posted Jun 06, 2011 at 10:03 AM by Maurice Berger
A National Journal survey of Democratic insiders reports that Mitt Romney is seen as the biggest threat
to President Obama by 27%, followed closely by Jon Huntsman at 25%, Tim
Pawlenty at 20%, Chris Christie at 11%, and Rick Perry at 5%.
Tagged: Election 2012, Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, Republican nomination
Posted Jun 03, 2011 at 1:28 AM by Maurice Berger
Public Policy Polling national survey of the strength of potential candidates for the 2012 GOP nomination reports that with Mike Huckabee and Donald Trump out of the race, Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin are now leading the pack with 16% each. Tim Pawlenty is at 13%, Herman Cain at 12% and Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, and Ron Paul at 9%.
Tagged: Donald Trump, Election 2012, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, Tim Pawlenty, Michele Bachmann, Ron Paul
Posted Jun 02, 2011 at 1:40 AM by Maurice Berger
A new Public Policy Polling survey in Iowa finds Mitt Romney leading the Republican presidential field
with 21%; Sarah Palin and Herman Cain are each at at 15%; Newt Gingrich
at 12%; Michele Bachman at 11%; Tim Pawlenty at 10%;and Ron Paul at 8%.
Tagged: Election 2012, Iowa Caucus, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Sarah Palin, Tim Pawlenty
Posted Jun 01, 2011 at 1:44 AM by Maurice Berger
Are voters cooling on the new crop of GOP politicians elected to office in 2010? A new poll suggests that at least in Florida the answer may be yes (though other polls in other states suggest discontent with newly elected GOP governors and senators). The Quinnipiac poll in Florida reports that 57% of voters disapprove of the job Gov. Rick
Scott (R) is doing; just 29% approve--the lowest approval rating of any
governor in the states surveyed by the polling organization.
Tagged: 2011, US Governor RACE CHART, Florida