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Poll shows Obama with energy lead as GOP convention opens
A new Washington Post/ABC News poll puts President Obama ahead of Mitt Romney on energy policy, marking at least the second major survey in recent days showing the president leading on the topic.
The poll released Monday shows that registered voters favor Obama over Romney 49-41 when respondents are asked which candidate they trust to do a better job handling energy policy.
The gap in the poll — conducted Aug. 22-25 — is even wider when pollsters counted up all adult respondents, as opposed to just registered voters, showing a 49-37 lead for Obama in the wider group.
The poll shows that the White House race is a dead heat, with Romney at 47 percent and Obama at 46 among registered voters (Obama is ahead 49-42 among adults overall).
The energy finding is a reversal from an April version of the Washington Post/ABC News poll conducted when gasoline prices were peaking at nearly $4 per gallon. The early April polling showed Romney with a 47-42 edge among adults on energy.
The new poll follows last week’s USA Today/Gallup survey that showed Obama with a 13-point lead over Romney on energy.
But Romney and his allies are likely to hammer Obama on energy at this week’s GOP convention, and gas prices are rising as Tropical Storm Isaac disrupts Gulf of Mexico oil-and-gas production, creating new concerns for the White House.
Romney rolled out his energy platform last Thursday, after the USA Today/Gallup poll was conducted and during the survey period for the Washington Post/ABC News poll.
