Poll Watch: Fox News 2012 Republican Nomination Survey

Fox News 2012 GOP Nomination Poll

• Mitt Romney 40% [23%] (22%) {20%} [23%] (22%) {26%} [26%]
• Rick Santorum 15% [4%] (2%) {3%} [3%] (4%) {4%} [4%] 
• Newt Gingrich 14% [36%] (23%) {12%} [11%] (3%) {9%} [9%]
• Ron Paul 13% [12%] (8%) {9%} [6%] (8%) {10%} [10%]
• Rick Perry 6% [8%] (7%) {10%} [19%] (29%)
• Too soon to say 4% [6%] (7%) {11%} [5%] (6%) {8%} [7%]
• Don't know 2% [2%] (5%) {5%} [7%] (10%) {9%} [13%]

Which Republican presidential candidate do you think is most qualified to manage the economy?

• Mitt Romney 44%
• Newt Gingrich 17%
• Ron Paul 10%
• Rick Santorum 8%
• Rick Perry 3%

Which Republican presidential candidate do you think would do the best job working with Congress?

• Mitt Romney 35%
• Newt Gingrich 28%
• Rick Santorum 10%
• Ron Paul 8%
• Rick Perry 4%

If _________________ were the Republican presidential nominee, which of the following comes closest to your view? Would he be: The best candidate to represent the party; Maybe not the best, but good enough; A bad choice to represent the party?

Mitt Romney

• The best candidate to represent the party 36%
• Maybe not the best, but good enough 50%
• A bad choice to represent the party 8%

Rick Santorum

• The best candidate to represent the party 20%
• Maybe not the best, but good enough 52%
• A bad choice to represent the party 16%

Newt Gingrich

• The best candidate to represent the party 19%
• Maybe not the best, but good enough 48%
• A bad choice to represent the party 27%

Which kind of Republican presidential candidate do you think would be more likely to beat Barack Obama in November?

• A more moderate Republican who will appeal to independents 49%
• A more conservative Republican who will provide the sharpest contrast with Obama 43%

When thinking about the backgrounds of the presidential candidates, which comes closer to your opinion of someone who has run businesses as a consultant and invested in them as a venture capitalist? Are you more likely to think:

• That’s a good thing because he has the experience and knowledge about finance and job creation. 54%
• That’s a bad thing because he is too close to Wall Street and the greed that caused the financial collapse. 30%

Which Republican candidate do you think has the best chance of beating Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential election?

• Mitt Romney 63% (37%)
• Newt Gingrich 9% (18%)
• Ron Paul 7% (2%)
• Rick Santorum 4% (0%)
• Rick Perry 1% (5%)

If your favorite candidate doesn’t win the Republican presidential nomination will you definitely still vote for the Republican candidate in November against Barack Obama, will you probably vote for the Republican candidate, or will you not vote for the Republican in November if your favorite candidate doesn’t win the nomination?

• Definitely still vote for Republican 63%
• Probably still vote for Republican 24%
• Not vote for Republican 8%
• Vote for Obama 2%
• Don’t know 4%

Survey of 365 Republican primary voters was conducted by Anderson Robbins Research (D)/Shaw & Company Research (R) January 12-14, 2012.  The margin of error is +/- 5 percentage points.  Results from the poll conducted December 5-7, 2011 are in square brackets.  Results from the poll conducted November 13-15, 2011 are in parentheses.  Results from the poll conducted October 23-25, 2011 are in curly brackets.  Results from the poll conducted September 25-27, 2011 are in square brackets.  Results from the poll conducted August 29-31, 2011 are in parentheses.  Results from the poll conducted August 7-9, 2011 are in curly brackets.  Results from the poll conducted July 17-19, 2011 are in square brackets.