Posted on 07/20/2009 4:07:38 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
If voters get to choose between Republican Mitt Romney and Democratic President Barack Obama in the 2012 election, a new national poll suggests the race would be too close to call.
Both Romney and Obama had the support of 45 percent of respondents to a new Rasmussen Reports poll released Monday.
The public opinion polling company asked 1,000 likely voters nationwide on July 18-19 whether they would vote for Romney or Obama if the 2012 presidential election were held today.
The telephone survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent.
Utah's top pollster, Dan Jones, said so early in the election cycle, such polls are "somewhat guesswork but it's still an indicator. I would be very surprised if we had an election and it would be that close."
Jones said the poll results say more about how Americans view Obama than a potential GOP challenger.
"It shows there are people who are discouraged with the (president's) economic package and especially with the direction America going," Jones said. Still, he said, the poll "will be very, very encouraging to the Romney people."
The results should give both Romney and the GOP a boost, said Kelly Patterson, the director of Brigham Young University's Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy.
"Gov. Romney can take a lot of heart from this because the Republican Party has gone through a very difficult stretch," Patterson said. "The fact that any Republican candidate is that close to Obama at this point is good news for the Republican Party."
And Romney, considered a "favorite son" candidate by Utahns because of his Mormon faith and leadership of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, may be in an especially good position to take advantage of the GOP's well-publicized struggles.(continued)
(Excerpt) Read more at deseretnews.com ...
If that worked we wouldn't have got stuck with McLame.
No argument here.
This is encouraging, but Mitt Romney is an uninspiring choice.
Why doesn’t Slick Willard just try to buy the Democrat party nomination instead ? It’d be the first honest thing he’s done in his life.
“No can do...”
Do you have your “Obama ‘12” bumper sticker on?
If O continues to self-destruct, any GOP candidate would beat him soundly in the next election, provided it is reasonably fair.
That would be interesting but it didn’t work with the Republican nomination.
“Catholic greaseball”
Ah, so you’re an Italian Catholic hater. Should have known—the bigotry is obvious.
I am half-Italian and, like Rudy, I am an ex-Catholic. Unlike Giussolini, however, I don’t lie about my religion.
Should Romney get the nomination, I predict Romney will pick DeMint as his Veep as his pander to the Right.
He won’t get it, so no need to worry about that.
**This article conveniently leaves out a little gem from the Rasmussen report (earlier thread on FR) that’s the elephant in the room for the GOP:
32% of Republicans polled said that if Palin is not the nominee, she should run as an independent.
Beltway GOP, you’ve got a problem. **
Yes, that is an amazing number, as well as 16% overall that would support Palin as an independent.
That 32% of Rep will be the hard core solid support for Palin as the Rep nominee too. Its a huge base. The primary is over bar the shouting as Palins support has always been rock solid, Romney fans and RINOs.
Who in the world is pushing Mitt? If you cannot win against John McCain, do not come back around!
The GOP establishment will push hard for Romney. The big question is if all those conservatives who backed Romney in 2008 - from Robert Bork, Tom Tancredo, Jim DeMint, Marsha Blackburn, Michelle Bachman, ACU, And National Review - will back him again in 2012.
Romney’s 2008 campaign theme was that he was the conservative alternative to McCain and Rudy.
Romney’s 2012 campaign theme will probably be “He’s a proven business leader who solves economic problems”.
He can bull$hit and bribe, just like he did in ‘08, but as long as Palin is in, he’s D.O.A. If I have to make it my mission again to keep that scum from anywhere near the party ticket, I’ll do it. Fortunately, so will many others who know the truth about this con-man.
Stacked poll favoring their mormon socialist!!!
President Sarah 2012!!
Romney v. Obama.
Given that choice, I’d prefer the government be run by Microsoft so that con/alt/del can be used prior to the BSoD.
Either choice was a complete loser.
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