Poll: Among GOP hopefuls, Romney fares best against Obama

CBS News

CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney holds a two-point lead against President Obama in a potential general election matchup, according to a new CBS News poll.

The survey found that Romney is the only GOP candidate to hold a lead over the president in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup, though Texas Rep. Ron Paul trails by just one point.

Both Romney's lead over Mr. Obama - 47 percent to 45 percent - and Mr. Obama's lead over Paul - 46 percent to 45 percent - are within the survey's three percentage point margin of error.

The poll found Mr. Obama with leads of at least four points over the other major Republican presidential candidates. The president leads former Sen. Rick Santorum 47 percent to 43 percent; he leads Texas Gov. Rick Perry 49 percent to 42 percent; he leads former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman 48 percent to 41 percent; and he leads former Newt Gingrich 49 percent to 41 percent.

The survey was taken from Jan. 4-8, in the wake of Romney's narrow victory over Santorum in the Iowa caucuses.

Romney and Paul's relatively strong showings are driven by support from independent voters. Romney leads Mr. Obama by six points among independent voters, 45 percent to 59 percent, and Paul leads the president by seven points among independents, 47 percent to 40 percent. Independents favored Mr. Obama over the other GOP candidates.

Romney had the most support among Republican voters, garnering 90 percent support. The worst performing candidates among Republicans was Huntsman, with 80 percent support, followed by Gingrich and Paul, with 81 percent support each.

Romney's campaign has argued that Republicans should rally around the former Massachusetts governor in part because he is the most likely to beat Mr. Obama in November. His rivals, including Gingrich, have challenged that claim, with Gingrich pointing to Romney's inability to win over more than 30 percent of Republicans in state and national polls.

Romney, who leads the field with 19 percent support in the new survey, is far more likely than any other Republican to be seen as a general election winner; 49 percent say he has the best chance to beat Mr. Obama, followed by Gingrich at 13 percent.  

Poll: Romney leads, Santorum surges into top 3

Americans divided over Obama

Obama Approval Rating

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The survey shows Mr. Obama's approval rating at 45 percent, a two point drop from last month. Forty-seven percent disapprove of Mr. Obama's performance on the job.

Eighty-four percent of Democrats approve of Mr. Obama's performance, while 86 percent of Republicans disapprove. Independents are not enthusiastic about Mr. Obama's performance: 49 percent disapprove, while 38 percent approve.

The president's job approval rating has been below 50 percent for most of the past year and a half. Presidents typically win reelection when their approval rating is above (or very near) 50 percent, and lose when it is below that level.

On the economy - the issue voters overwhelmingly cite as the most important - Mr. Obama's approval rating is just 38 percent, down two points from December. Fifty-five percent disapprove of his handling of the economy.

Mr. Obama fares better on foreign policy: There, 46 percent approve of his performance, while 37 percent disapprove.

Pessimism over the economy, Congress and the direction of the country

The survey finds that Americans are widely pessimistic about their economy, their country's direction and their representatives in Congress. Eighty percent describe the condition of the economy as fairly or very bad, while just 19 percent call it at least somewhat good.

Meanwhile, while 25 percent say the economy is getting better, a larger percentage - 29 percent - say it is getting worse. (Forty-five percent say the economy is stagnant.) And sixty-five percent say the nation is on the wrong track, while just 29 percent say it is headed in the right direction.

Still, there are signs of an improved perceptions: The percentage that describes the economy as at least somewhat good is up nine points since September, while the percentage that say the economy is getting better is up 13 points since that month. And the percentage that says the country is headed in the right direction is up 10 points since September.

In addition, Americans are optimistic about the New Year: 40 percent expect 2012 to be better than 2011, while just 11 percent expect 2012 to be worse. (46 percent said 2012 will be the same as 2011).

Congress remains deeply unpopular: Just 12 percent approve of the job Congress is doing, while 80 percent disapprove. Democrats are most critical, with 85 percent disapproval, followed by independents at 82 percent and Republicans at 74 percent.

MORE FROM THE POLL:

58% of Republicans want more presidential choices

Read the complete poll

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This poll was conducted by telephone from January 4-8, 2012 among 1,413 adults nationwide, including 1,247 interviews were conducted with registered voters. Phone numbers were dialed from samples of both standard land-line and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The margin of error for the sample of registered voters could be plus or minus three points. The error for subgroups may be higher. This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

[JavaMcPhearson]

Our election is not a beauty contest. ?Both Obama and Romney have a polished suit and matching digestible sound bites. ?We need policies, not polish. ?It only takes a minute to dig below the surface to see that Paul's policies will get our runaway government deficit in line, ?strengthen our national defense, AND our currency. ?Only Paul represents the change necessary to save our kid's economic future and return a respected, strong, responsible nation.

[alecST]

Brian are you retarded??? Dr. Paul has a higher percentage than obama or romney, and a bigger gap between him and obama than obama and romney, and you still say romney is leading? does cbs get their reporters from a Fauxnews summer camp? id like an explanation on how u came up with your analysis.

[alecST]

i came up with my conclusion because there are now more independent voters than dems and reps

[noloyalisti]

If this was a Hollywood movie you could not find a more blatant and perfect 1% moron than Robmee. At the exact time when the Occupy Together 99% is about to start the Revolution for the people, you have this Bozo the Clown greedy, worthless clown Robmee climb out of the toilet. You can't make this up.

[BotanyIsLife]

Every politician comprises the 1%. Anyone welthy enough to win a political office has to have enough money to get there.

As for Romney, I'd take him over Obama. If Romney sees a faltering buisness, he either fixes it or keeps away from it. Obama, on the other hand, keeps giving the banks and other failing industries billions of tax-payer dollars, none of which will return any dividends to the working class as a whole. What a nighmare...

[ajcVeteran]

My fellow voters, please be wary and be very scared of Mitt Romney carney salesman of the Bain Capital carpetbagger company. Romney's extremist vulture capitalist job wacking ender approach is NOT 'what' Reagan's pro-business approach was about. Reagan's conservative business philosophy was about creating quality high paying jobs, not acting like Darth Romney and Bain factory busters whom swept down on struggling companies, took their double edge boot knives out and gutted them and their poor fellow Americans of ours...down to their skeletons. As your co-workers and you head for unemployment, off they go running in the other direction with millions in profits, preying on any company they can gleefully sack. He doesn't want to save your or America's soul...he wants to collect your dying hopes in his personal cookie memory jars---owning it in a way that you will never get it back.

Sadly, it was two US government bailouts that Romney/Bain applied for and utilized...that saved their company so they could then destroy more folks dreams.

In Gaffney, South Carolina for example, Bain's company, Holson Burns Group Inc, shut down a company while raking in $24 million dollar, doubling their initial investment as the South Carolinians he pink slipped...stayed home empty handed. As Romney-Bain said recently, he "like(s) to fire people". Indeed he does! When a business is run by ethical leaders and in the right hands, capitalism is a great job creator and community uplifter...just not in Romney-Bain's. In gaffney, after he shut down that company...a community of 12,000 suffered the side negative affects. You see, shutting down factories instead of saving them, harms lots more than those whom got let go...

Below link to actual copies of financial documents regarding this shut down and sale:

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/275058-holson-burnes-documents.html

https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.documentcloud.org/documents/275058/holson-burnes-documents.pdf

Romney-Bain collectively, gave conservative family values and what is respectable about America's business tradition a back eye and a bad name. Candidate Romney-Bain is no Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Warren Buffet, etc...Not by liberal mile.

As a combat veteran myself I believe---the Romney-Bain approach is robbing the suffering and giving them the middle finger as Romney-Bain and his family roll around their many home's palacial beds, luxuring in your hard earned money they hijacked from you.

Do fear, yes that's right---FEAR Romney Gecko swooping upon your city ripping apart everything you have left.. If he gets in, he'll take away everything that you and your family hold dear. In both Iowa and New Hampshire, 60% of the Republican voters voted AGAINST Romneycare man.

Fellow GOPers, your vital voting duty moment is near. It's up to each and every one of you---to stop Romney's carried out scorched earth conservatism.

One day he is for abortions, the next day he isn't. One day he tells T
Ted Kennedy I'm not for Reaganism, but today..he claims he loves Ronald Reagan. Our future voting, must enjoin to stop this poser.

This time, pretty...is just too pretty to be true. I know Ronald Reagan, and Mitt the Hun workforce terminator, is no Reagan. Good luck and God bless you!!!

[thedave108]

I believe most of the results reported on Romney are bogus. We know elections are mainly manipulated, as are polls. No one can verify either, it's all based on someones word, and with elections, its usually NWO flunkies who run the companies, so thats the first thing. And I say that because even the USA is not unintelligent enough to fall for the shallow, vapid things that Romney stands for. I don't believe for a second that he won the Iowa caucuses - it was reported, but so was Iraq having WMD's and much much more bogus info. It's all a con, meant to LOOK real and convince you it's real by making the results look something like they might based on real votes - buts its all hijacked by the powers that were (formerly known as the powers that be)...

[boondoggles]

Obama is toast in 2012. And, I am not paid by anyone to post for the republicans.

[MrCoatsLibertyNow]

Any potential Romney supporters out there need to watch this before voting for him:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2h8ujX6T0A

GO DR. RON PAUL 2012!!!

[boondoggles]

I will stand behind whoever the republican nominee is. I along with so many people will vote for ABO. There are so many reasons for that I cannot put them all down. Let's see, Solyndra, 7 trillions spent since in office, first president to reside over a downgrade in our nations credit rating and still wants to spend more taxpayer money, world apology tour, arrogance in bypassing congress who is elected by the people of every state, 45 + czars that answer only to him and not to congress, questionable ties to people like Bill Ayers, Reverend Wright who said,"God d### America!", total arrogance at a time when we have 20+ million unemployed people out of work in this nation, one out of every four children on food stamps, our nation has now reached 100%debt to our GDP, says do what I say not what I do in terms of catering to the top 1%, which the multitude of his donors come from, crony capitlism in giving away taxpayer funds to his democrat donors in terms of loans thru the energy department that will never be repaid because the companies have gone bankrupt, I could go on and on. Anyone that wants four more years of this failed presidency that is destroying our economy and country really ought to get their head examined. I say that because realistically there are not enough good reasons to put this man in office for another four years no matter how you dice this, the man is toast in 2012.

[noloyalisti]

Listen Chili, this country is run just like the Mafia. Where do you think all the dirty money comes from that is used to bribe our elected officials? What do you think the Supreme Court Citizens United ruling did to our system that was already corrupted by corporate lobbyists, PACs and Super PACs?

Big corporations who are people according to Mittens. And money is "free" speech according to the fake and illegitimate Supreme Court Joke.

[noloyalisti]

The fact that ANY Republicon could even sniff ANY elected office is a strong indication of the power of the corporate right wing propaganda in America.

They have actually been able to convince almost half of Americans to keep voting for the interests of the corporate Top 1% over their own jobs, homes and businesses.

The corporate elite are responsible for all the economic woes and the graft and corruption in Washington. There is no doubt in the mind of the progressives and the others that allow their brains to work.

[ChiliDogg17]

One, nolo presents the usual liberal condescension for the "little people", who they claim to love, but who they deride for not thinking the same way as the condescending liberal. Some liberals think people are too stupid to know their own interests and that they should vote the way the liberal thinks is best for them. Very paternalistic...

Two, nolo is typical in blaming all our economic woes, and graft and corruption in CD on corporations, but letting the government completely off the hook. Apparently, no one is Washington is responsible for any of their actions - corporations made them do it! Obama is the biggest recipient of Wall Street money in history - but it's not his fault! Get a clue.

[Tired_of_liars]

Nolo, I want you to read what I am going to type carefully!

You are a MORON. The fact that you posted this proves that you are ignorant on things. The only CON is people like you who don't understand anything. YOU SIR ARE A FOOL

[wfw3536]

Time for Obama to step aside and let Mrs Clinton run for president. Her approval is over 60%. A lot of folks made a big mistake 4 years ago not support Mrs Clinton.