Poll Watch: Rasmussen 2012 Presidential Favorability Survey

Rasmussen 2012 Presidential Favorability Poll

I’m going to read you a short list of people in the news. For each, please let me know if you have a very favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable, or very unfavorable impression.

Mitt Romney

• Very favorable 9% (11%)
• Somewhat favorable 36% (42%)
• Somewhat unfavorable 26% (23%)
• Very unfavorable 23% (15%)

Rick Santorum

• Very favorable 16%
• Somewhat favorable 27%
• Somewhat unfavorable 15%
• Very unfavorable 35%

Ron Paul

• Very favorable 9%
• Somewhat favorable 31%
• Somewhat unfavorable 32%
• Very unfavorable 21%

Newt Gingrich

• Very favorable 10%
• Somewhat favorable 23%
• Somewhat unfavorable 21%
• Very unfavorable 41%

Are the four remaining candidates for the Republican nomination the best options for the Republican Party, or would it be better for someone else to enter the race?

• Remaining candidates are the best options 36%
• Better for someone else to enter race 43%

Note: Fifty-three percent (53%) of Republican voters feel the four candidates still in the field remain the GOP's best option.

Among Independents

• Remaining candidates are the best options 31%
• Better for someone else to enter race 45%

National survey of 1,000 likely voters was conducted March 5-6, 2012. The margin of error is +/- 3 percentage points. Results from the poll conducted December 8-9, 2011 are in parentheses.

Inside the numbers:

Among Republican voters, Santorum is the most popular with favorables of 76%, including 33% who view him very favorably. Romney is seen favorably by 74%, but that includes just 16% with a very favorable opinion of him.

In fact, Gingrich, while earning overall favorables of just 60% among GOP voters, has a slightly more passionate following than Romney since his total includes 19% who regard him very favorably.

Forty-two percent (42%) of Republican voters have a favorable opinion of Paul, while 51% view him unfavorably. That includes seven percent (7%) with a very favorable opinion and 17% with a very unfavorable one.

Paul is the best-liked of the candidates among unaffiliated voters with overall favorables of 48%. Romney is seen favorably by 39% of these voters, Santorum by 32% and Gingrich by 23%.

Union members are evenly divided when it comes to Paul, but most regard the other three Republicans unfavorably. Tea Party members strongly prefer Santorum and Gingrich to Romney, although 75% of these voters now share at least a somewhat favorable opinion of the GOP front-runner.

By a 50% to 30% margin, conservative voters think the four remaining Republican candidates are the party’s best options. Fifty-one percent (51%) of moderates and 54% of liberals say it would be better for the GOP if someone else entered the race.