Former Massachusetts Republican Governor and 2008 candidate for the Republican nomination for President Mitt Romney trails President Barack Obama in the election slated for almost a year and a half from now, 47% Obama – 38% Romney with 16% undecided in the latest Economist / YouGov poll conducted May 28-31, 2011 with 1000 adults nationwide.
On June 2, 2011, Mitt traveled to New Hampshire to announce his candidacy for President. New Hampshire is a small state, but Romney’s announcement was crowded by the presence of the Sarah Palin family’s bus tour. Romney could have benefited from some time alone with the American electorate. In the past two months, while he has emerged as the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, he has made little progress in overtaking Obama. In mid-April, the race stood at 45% Obama – 41% Romney with 14% undecided.
Since February 12-15, 2011, the Economist / YouGov poll has asked Americans to rate their overall opinion of Romney three times. Opinion of Romney has been remarkably static:
- Feb. 12-15, 2011: 39% favorable, 36% unfavorable, 25% not sure
- Apr. 16-19, 2011: 36% favorable, 41% unfavorable, 24% not sure
- Apr. 30-May 3, 2011: 37% favorable, 37% unfavorable, 26% not sure
Full datasets for Economist/YouGov polls can be found here.
