Daily Presidential Tracking Poll
Saturday, June 19, 2010 Email to a Friend ShareThis.Advertisement
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Saturday shows that 25% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as president. Forty-five percent (45%) Strongly Disapprove, giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -20 (see trends).
These results are based upon nightly telephone interviews and reported on a three-day rolling average basis. Today is the first update based entirely upon interviews conducted after the president’s Tuesday night speech.
On the morning of the president’s speech, his Approval Index rating was -17 meaning that the initial response to the speech has cost him a net three points in the Approval Index. The number who Strongly Approve has increased one point since the speech while the number who Strongly Disapprove is up four.
President Obama’s numbers have typically bounced following a national television event. Generally, they bounce up a little. Once before, following a press conference, they went down. The bounce typically has lasted a week or so and then faded.
Forty-eight percent (48%) of Democrats now Strongly Approve. That’s up two points since the speech. Seventy-seven percent (77%) of Republicans Strongly Disapprove, also up two points since the speech.
Among those not affiliated with either major party, 49% now Strongly Disapprove. That’s up five points since Tuesday morning (see other recent demographic highlights).
The Presidential Approval Index is calculated by subtracting the number who Strongly Disapprove from the number who Strongly Approve. It is updated daily at 9:30 a.m. Eastern (sign up for free daily e-mail update). Updates are also available on Twitter and Facebook.
Overall, 42% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the president's performance. That too reflects a three-point drop since the speech.
Fifty-seven percent (57%) now disapprove.
Check out our review of last week’s key polls to see “What They Told Us.”
In his new book, Scott Rasmussen observes, “Most of us have come to believe that the political system is broken, that most politicians are corrupt, and that neither major political party has the answers. Some of us are ready to give up and some of us are ready to scream a little louder. But all of us believe we can do better.
In Search of Self-Governance , is available at Rasmussen Reports and Amazon.com.
If you’d like Scott to speak at your conference or event, contact Premiere Speakers Bureau.
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The Rasmussen Reports Media Meter shows that media coverage of President Obama has been 41% positive over the past week. Since the passage of the health care law, coverage has ranged from a high of 60% positive to a low of 39% positive.
Rasmussen Reports has released polls on the 2010 governor’s races in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
See the latest Rasmussen Reports 2010 Senate polling from Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
Scott has published several recent Wall Street Journal columns including “Why Obama Can’t Move the Health Care Numbers” and how Obama won the White House by campaigning like Ronald Reagan. He has also written an overview of the health care reform debate, a look at how President Obama is losing independent voters, and was the first to note the decline in the president's approval ratings.
You can also learn about Scott’s favorite place on earth and his time working with hockey legend Gordie Howe.
It is important to remember that the Rasmussen Reports job approval ratings are based upon a sample of likely voters. Some other firms base their approval ratings on samples of all adults. President Obama's numbers are always several points higher in a poll of adults rather than likely voters. That's because some of the president's most enthusiastic supporters, such as young adults, are less likely to turn out to vote. It is also important to check the details of question wording when comparing approval ratings from different firms.
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Rasmussen Reports 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.”
The Pew Center noted that Rasmussen Reports beat traditional media in covering Scott Brown's upset win in Massachusetts earlier this year: “ “It was polling—not journalistic reporting—that caught the wave in the race to succeed Massachusetts Senator Edward M. Kennedy.” Rasmussen Reports was also the first to show Joe Sestak catching Arlen Specter in the Pennsylvania Democratic Primary race this year.
In the 2009 New Jersey Governor’s race, automated polls tended to be more accurate than operator-assisted polling techniques. On reviewing the state polling results from 2009, Mickey Kaus offered this assessment, “If you have a choice between Rasmussen and, say, the prestigious N.Y. Times, go with Rasmussen!”
In 2008, Obama won 53%-46% and our final poll showed Obama winning 52% to 46%. While we were pleased with the final result, Rasmussen Reports was especially pleased with the stability of our results. On every single day for the last six weeks of the campaign, our daily tracking showed Obama with a stable and solid lead attracting more than 50% of the vote.
We also have provided a summary of our 2008 state-by-state presidential results for your review.
In 2004 George W. Bush received 50.7% of the vote while John Kerry earned 48.3%. Rasmussen Reports polling projected that Bush would win 50.2% to 48.5%. We were the only firm to project both candidates’ totals within half a percentage point by (see our 2004 results).
See also our 2008 state results for Senate and governor.
See 2006 results for senate and governor.
Daily tracking results are collected via telephone surveys of 500 likely voters per night and reported on a three-day rolling average basis. 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 Premium Members.
Like all polling firms, Rasmussen Reports weights its data to reflect the population at large (see methodology). Among other targets, Rasmussen Reports weights data by political party affiliation using a dynamic weighting process. While partisan affiliation is generally quite stable over time, there are a fair number of people who waver between allegiance to a particular party or independent status. Since the November 2008 election, the number of Democrats in the country has declined while the number of unaffiliated voters has grown.
Our baseline targets are established based upon separate survey interviews with a sample of adults nationwide completed during the preceding three months (a total of 45,000 interviews) and targets are updated monthly. Currently, the baseline targets for the adult population are 35.8% Democrats, 32.2% Republicans, and 32.1% unaffiliated. Likely voter samples typically show a slightly smaller advantage for the Democrats
A review of last week’s key polls is posted each Saturday morning. |
