Daily Presidential Tracking Poll
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Wednesday, August 15, 2012
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Wednesday shows Mitt Romney attracting support from 47% of voters nationwide, while President Obama earns the vote from 43%. Four percent (4%) prefer some other candidate, and seven percent (7%) are undecided. Romney’s lead is a bit larger when leaners are included.
In Ohio, the candidates are tied at 45% each. Ohio remains one of 12 states with 156 Electoral Voters that are either Toss-Ups or Leaners in the Rasmussen Reports Electoral College Projections.
Initial voter reaction to Romney's new running mate Paul Ryan is modestly positive. Fifty percent (50%) have a favorable opinion of him. He is seen as politically conservative by seven-out-of-10 voters which places him as far to the right as Obama is to the political left. Political analyst Michael Barone notes that the selection of Ryan puts the nation’s entitlement crisis at the center of this year’s campaign.
Matchup results are updated daily at 9:30 a.m. Eastern (sign up for free daily e-mail update). See daily tracking history of the Obama-Romney race.
A new report by the Treasury Department estimates that the auto bailouts will cost the government $25 billion. Fewer than half of all voters recognize that the government lost money on these bailouts. Upon learning that the government lost money, just 29% consider them a success. Fifty-nine percent (59%) consider the auto bailouts a failure.
When it comes to their child’s education, large majorities believe parents should have a choice when it comes to prayer in school, what the students wear and how much of the year they spend in class. Just 23% give our nation’s public schools good or excellent grades.
Only 27% believe it's ever appropriate for the government to make investments in private companies. Sixty-six percent (66%) believe most government contracts are given to the company with the most political connections rather than the one that can provide the best service for the best price.
Rasmussen Reports is pleased to announce a limited time only discount to subscribe to our Rasmussen Reader service. Subscribers receive access to more than 20 exclusive news updates per week at a price of just $24.95 a year. Stay on top of Election 2012 and all the key issues for less than 50 cents a week.
(Presidential Job Approval Data Below)
A president’s job approval rating is one of the best indicators for assessing his chances of reelection. Typically, the president’s job approval rating on Election Day will be close to the share of the vote he receives. Currently, 47% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the president's job performance. Fifty-two percent (52%) at least somewhat disapprove of the job Obama is doing ( see trends).
While most voters want to see the Bush tax cuts extended by the end of the year, only 43% believe it is even somewhat likely that Congress and the president will find a way to accomplish that goal.
Just 25% believe the bailouts of the U.S. financial industry were good for America.
Scott Rasmussen’s weekly newspaper column notes that “voters don't want to be selecting a venture-capitalist-in-chief; they want to pick someone to run the government. And they want the government to stop picking winners and losers in the business world.” If you’d like Scott to speak to your organization, meeting or conference, please contact Premiere Speakers.
(Approval Index data below)
Intensity of support or opposition can have an impact on campaigns. Currently, 24% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way Obama is performing as president. Forty-three percent (43%) Strongly Disapprove, giving him a Presidential Approval Index rating of -19 ( see trends).
During midterm elections, intensity of support can have a tremendous impact on turnout. That was demonstrated in 2010 when Republicans and unaffiliated voters turned out in large numbers to express opposition to the Obama administration’s policies. However, in presidential election years, there is a smaller impact on turnout.
To get a sense of longer-term Job Approval trends for the president, Rasmussen Reports also compiles our tracking data on a full month-by-month basis.
(More below)
Rasmussen Reports is a media company whose work is followed by millions on a wide variety of platforms. We regularly release our results at RasmussenReports.com, through a daily email newsletter, a nationally syndicated radio news service, an online video service and a weekly newspaper column distributed by Creators Syndicate. A nationally syndicated TV show-- What America Thinks--is scheduled for launch in September 2012.
Our firm has been a pioneer in the use of automated telephone polling techniques, but many other firms still utilize their own operator-assisted technology ( see methodology). Pollsters for Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton have cited our " unchallenged record for both integrity and accuracy." During Election 2008, Rasmussen Reports projected that Barack Obama would defeat John McCain by a 52% to 46% margin. Obama was 53% to 46%. In 2004, Rasmussen Reports was the only firm to project the vote totals for both candidates within half a percentage point. Learn more about the Rasmussen Reports track record over the years.
Daily tracking results are collected via telephone surveys of 500 likely voters per night and reported on a three-day rolling average basis. To reach those who have abandoned traditional landline telephones, Rasmussen Reports uses an online survey tool to interview randomly selected participants from a demographically diverse panel. The margin of sampling error for the full sample of 1,500 Likely Voters is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Results are also compiled on a full-week basis and crosstabs for full-week results are available for Platinum Members. |
