Poll Watch: Rasmussen (R) Ohio 2012 Presidential Survey

Rasmussen (R) Ohio 2012 Presidential Poll

• Mitt Romney 46% {42%} [40%] (41%)
• Barack Obama 44% {46%} [48%] (45%)
• Some other candidate 6% {5%} [8%] (10%)
• Undecided 5% {8%} [3%] (4%)

Please let me know if you have a very favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable or very unfavorable impression of Mitt Romney. 

• Very favorable 17% {14%}
• Somewhat favorable 31% {34%}
• Somewhat unfavorable 23% {23%}
• Very unfavorable 27% {23%}

Favorable / Unfavorable {Net}

• Mitt Romney 48% {48%} [42%] (45%) / 50% {46%} [52%] {-2%}

How would you rate the job Barack Obama has been doing as president? 

• Strongly approve 24% {23%}  [27%]
• Somewhat approve 22% {27%} [22%] 
• Somewhat disapprove 12% {9%} [12%]
• Strongly disapprove 42% {39%} [37%]

Survey of 500 likely voters was conducted May 29, 2012. The margin of error is +/- 4.5 percentage points.  Results from the poll conducted April 18, 2012 are in curly brackets.  Results from the poll conducted March 26, 2012 are in square brackets.  Results from the poll conducted February 8, 2012 are in parentheses.

Inside the numbers:

Romney leads by 12 points among male voters, Obama by seven among female voters. Most voters under 40 continue to like the president, while their elders prefer the Republican.

Voters not affiliated with either of the major political parties favor Romney by a 47% to 35% margin.

Just 37% of all Ohio voters are excited about choosing between Obama and Romney, while 55% view the election as the choice of the lesser of two evils. Obama leads 64% to 36% among Ohio voters who are excited about the race. Romney is ahead 53% to 32% among those who see the contest as between the lesser of two evils.

Just 15% of all voters in the state see Romney and Obama as the best two candidates for the presidency this year. Sixty-seven percent (67%) do not, while 18% more are not sure.

Maybe in part that’s because most Buckeye State voters disagree with both candidates on the issues. Only 38% agree with Romney on most important issues, while another six percent (6%) say they agree with him on just about everything. Thirty-one percent (31%) agree with the president on most important issues, and nine percent (9%) more agree with him on nearly everything.

Sixty-three percent (63%) of voters in Ohio think the candidates disagree on most important issues, and another 25% believe they disagree on just about everything.

Forty-nine percent (49%), however, think Romney would do a better job than Obama managing the economy. Forty percent (40%) say the president would do better. That’s comparable to findings nationally, but voters in Ohio are less enthusiastic about Romney’s business background: 40% see it as primarily a reason to vote for him, while 37% view it chiefly as a reason to vote against him.