Raleigh, N.C. – Though his favorability rating is largely unchanged since March, Barack Obama now trails two of the top 2012 Republican presidential contenders and ties another, while a fourth is down only two points after previously losing by larger margins.
Mitt Romney leads Obama 45-44 after tying the president at 44 last month. This is true despite Obama consolidating his Democratic support and narrowing his deficit among independents.
After trailing 44-46 to Obama in March, Mike Huckabee now leads the president 47-45. Huckabee boosted his favorability numbers from 31-36 to 32-31 in a month by decreasing his disapproval among liberals, moderates, conservatives, and Republicans.
Sarah Palin now lags Obama only 45-47 after showing deficits of eight or seven points in each of the last three months. Both Obama and Palin have increased their base support, but Palin now trails Obama among independents 39-46 versus 35-49 in March.
Despite a 34-47 favorability gulf, Newt Gingrich is dead even with President Obama, 45-45. Obama leads Gingrich among independents 44-40, but 11% of his own party members pledge to vote for Gingrich, versus only 6% of Republicans crossing over.
Except in the race against Huckabee, Obama now retains slightly more of his own party’s support than do the Republicans, and Democrats voting for the Republicans are down to 10-11% in all four cases. But Republicans are also less sure of how they will vote than are Democrats, particularly when Obama is pitted against Gingrich and Romney.
“None of the Republicans is particularly popular, nor is any politician in this sour climate, but the public is taking it out on the President and party in power,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling.
PPP surveyed 622 registered voters from April 9th to 11th. The margin of error is +/-3.9%. Other factors, such as refusal to be interviewed and weighting, may introduce additional error that is more difficult to quantify.
If you would like an interview regarding this release, please contact Dean Debnam at (888) 621-6988 or 919-880-4888.
Topline results are below. Full results, including crosstabs, can be found here.
Q1 Do you approve or disapprove of Barack
Obama’s job performance? If you approve,
press 1. If you disapprove, press 2. If you’re
not sure, press 3.
Approve…………….. 46%
Disapprove………… 48%
Not Sure……………. 6%
Q2 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Mike Huckabee? If favorable, press 1. If
unfavorable, press 2. If you’re not sure, press
3.
Favorable……………. 32%
Unfavorable ………… 31%
Not Sure……………… 37%
Q3 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Sarah Palin? If favorable, press 1. If
unfavorable, press 2. If you’re not sure, press
3.
Favorable……………………………………………….. 38%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 52%
Not Sure…………………………………………………. 9%
Q4 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Newt Gingrich? If favorable, press 1. If
unfavorable, press 2. If you’re not sure, press
3.
Favorable……………………………………………….. 34%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 47%
Not Sure…………………………………………………. 19%
Q5 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Mitt Romney? If favorable, press 1. If
unfavorable, press 2. If you’re not sure, press
3.
Favorable……………………………………………….. 33%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 42%
Not Sure…………………………………………………. 25%
Q6 If the candidates for President next time were
Mike Huckabee and Barack Obama, who
would you vote for? If Mike Huckabee, press
1. If Barack Obama, press 2. If you’re not
sure, press 3.
Huckabee……………………………………………….. 47%
Obama…………………………………………………… 45%
Not Sure…………………………………………………. 9%
Q7 If the candidates for President next time were
Sarah Palin and Barack Obama, who would
you vote for? If Sarah Palin, press 1. If Barack
Obama, press 2. If you’re not sure, press 3.
Palin………………………………………………………. 45%
Obama…………………………………………………… 47%
Not Sure…………………………………………………. 7%
Q8 If the candidates for President in 2012 were
Newt Gingrich and Barack Obama, who would
you vote for? If Newt Gingrich, press 1. If
Barack Obama, press 2. If you’re undecided,
press 3.
Gingrich …………………………………………………. 45%
Obama…………………………………………………… 45%
Undecided………………………………………………. 10%
Q9 If the candidates for President next time were
Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, who would
you vote for? If Mitt Romney, press 1. If
Barack Obama, press 2. If you’re not sure,
press 3.
Romney …………………………………………………. 45%
Obama…………………………………………………… 44%
Not Sure…………………………………………………. 10%
Q10 Who did you vote for President last year? If
John McCain, press 1. If Barack Obama,
press 2. If someone else or you don’t
remember, press 3.
McCain…………………………………………………… 45%
Obama…………………………………………………… 48%
Someone else/don’t remember ………………….. 7%
Q11 Would you describe yourself as a liberal,
moderate, or conservative? If liberal, press 1. If
moderate, press 2. If conservative, press 3.
Liberal ……………………………………………………. 21%
Moderate………………………………………………… 37%
Conservative…………………………………………… 42%
Q12 If you are a woman, press 1, if a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 50%
Man……………………………………………………….. 50%
Q13 If you are a Democrat, press 1. If you are a
Republican, press 2. If you are an independent
or identify with another party, press 3.
Democrat ……………………………………………….. 38%
Republican……………………………………………… 38%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 24%
Q14 If you are Hispanic, press 1. If white, press 2.
If African American, press 3. If other, press 4.
Hispanic…………………………………………………. 10%
White …………………………………………………….. 75%
African American …………………………………….. 12%
Other……………………………………………………… 4%
Q15 If you are 18 to 29 years old, press 1 now. If
you are 30 to 45, press 2. If you are 46 to 65,
press 3. If older, press 4.
18 to 29………………………………………………….. 9%
30 to 45………………………………………………….. 28%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 43%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 21%
