Polls

A new Pennsylvania poll shows President Obama leading his two most likely GOP opponents and Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-Pa.) in good shape for reelection.

The Muhlenberg College/Allentown Morning Call poll showed that 51 percent of voters believe Obama does not deserve reelection. But he led Mitt Romney by 45 percent to 41 and Newt Gingrich by a substantial 52 percent to 35 in the Democratic-leaning state.

Casey appears to be on safer ground. A majority of voters approve of the job he is doing, at 54 percent, while just 24 percent disapprove, and 54 percent likewise believe he should be reelected. That's up from a 40 percent approval rating in an August poll.

Republicans hope they can remain competitive in Pennsylvania, a large state with 20 votes in the Electoral College. But these poll numbers indicate their eventual nominees for president and Senate there will have uphill battles.

The poll of 422 registered voters was conducted from Nov. 28 through Dec. 7 and has a margin of error of plus or minus five percentage points.

Republican enthusiasm about voting in the 2012 election has fallen sharply over the last three months, from 58 percent in September to 49 percent in December, according to a Gallup poll released Thursday.

Democratic voters have held steady since September, with 44 percent saying they were more enthusiastic.

According to Gallup, voting enthusiasm is a strong indicator of the eventual outcome of the election.

The poll indicates that the whipsaw battle for the GOP nomination is taking its toll on voters. Donald Trump, Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry and Herman Cain have all taken their turns atop the polls.

Cain recently suspended his campaign, saying he wanted to protect his family from the mounting allegations of sexual harassment and marital infidelity against him.

Newt Gingrich is the current front-runner, but some members of the GOP establishment have publicly spurned him.

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) said that he cannot support Gingrich because the former House Speaker lacks leadership skills.

And Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) has called Gingrich “too self-centered,” and said he “does not have the capacity to control himself.”

Following Gingrich in the polls is Mitt Romney, who has struggled mightily to gain traction with conservatives in the party, who are unconvinced of his fealty to their cause because of his reputation as a flip-flopper from his past campaigns.

Fresh off Wednesday’s poll showing GOP front-runner Newt Gingrich with double-digit leads over the Republican field in three of the first four early-voting states, a Quinnipiac poll released on Thursday shows Gingrich with similar leads in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Mitt Romney significantly outperforms Newt Gingrich in a head to head match-up against President Obama in Colorado, but the president would still defeat the entire field of GOP candidates, according to a Public Policy Poll released on Wednesday.

President Obama’s job approval rating has been ticking downward over the first week of December, according to the latest poll.

Newt Gingrich is solidly outperforming his rivals with Tea Party members and white evangelical voters in Iowa, who by a wide margin view him as “more prepared” to be president, according to a New York Times-CBS News poll released on Tuesday.

Sen. Marco Rubio's (R) popularity is on the decline in Florida, a new poll showed, while Democrats have a small advantage over Republicans in the state's congressional races.

Just 40 percent of Florida voters now say they approve of Rubio, according to the poll released Tuesday by Democratic firm Public Policy Polling. That's down from 44 percent in September.

His disapproval ratings have also climbed steadily in every PPP poll since March, when 31 percent disapproved. In November, 40 percent said they disapproved.

The figures still mean Rubio is substantially more popular than member of Congress on average. But with less than half of voters in his state giving an approving nod, Rubio might be a less appealing candidate for those seeking to add his name to a presidential ticket.

Rubio, who is not up for reelection in 2012, has said he will not be the vice-presidential nominee, but that hasn't stopped many Republicans from continuing to float his name as the party's best choice to pair up with their presidential pick.

Democrats also have a 6-point advantage over Republicans in a generic ballot, where voters are asked to pick which party they would like to represent them in Congress, without specific politician names attached.

The poll of 700 Florida voters was conducted Nov. 28-Dec. 1 using automated telephone interviews and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.

A second poll released on Tuesday has GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich leading in Iowa by double-digits.

Newt Gingrich rocketed to the top of the first Gallup daily tracking poll on Tuesday, capping off a month in which he started off trailing Mitt Romney and Herman Cain by nine percent each, but has since opened up a 15 point advantage over Romney.

South Carolina Republicans would prefer Newt Gingrich to win the Republican presidential nomination, according to a new poll.

According to the Winthrop University poll released on Tuesday, Gingrich is the first choice to win the Republican nomination for president, with 38 percent support among South Carolina Republicans planning to vote in the GOP primary. 

Mitt Romney placed second in the poll, with 21 percent. Rick Perry came in third with 9 percent, and an equal number of likely South Carolina Republican voters say they aren't sure who should win the nomination. No other candidate was able to take more than 9 percent in the poll.