Pro-Abortion Poll Presents Bad News for Obama in 2012

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Dec 15, 2010   |   12:25PM   |   Washington, DC

The pro-abortion group Emily’s List has released a new poll conducted by a Democratic polling firm that presents bad news for its friend in the White House concerning his re-election bid.

Conducted by the Garin-Hart-Yang Research Group, the new national survey found that, among women who voted for President Barack Obama in 2008 but who shifted to support Republican candidates last month, Obama trails 45-40 percent against a generic Republican presidential candidate.

The numbers for the pro-abortion group were better when they combined women who stayed home in the November elections with those who voted for Republicans.

Then, Emily’s List saw a 62 percent level of support for Obama compared with 23 percent who favor a Republican alternative, according to a Politico report on the poll.

That nearly one quarter of Obama’s 2008 base among women now favors a Republican candidate in 2012 — and either stayed home or voted for pro-life Republicans last month — shows a significant erosion of support among those voters who he needs to be elected to another four year term.

While pro-abortion groups like Emily’s List claim women are solidly pro-abortion and, therefore solidly against the new pro-life Republican majority that will run the House of Representatives next year, the poll of 608 women shows they’re not lining up behind the group’s mantra.

Conducted shortly after the elections, the survey shows only 38 percent of women said it would have a significant negative effect on them if Republicans captured control of Congress from pro-abortion Democrats.

The only real good news for Emily’s List came when women were asked to choose between Obama and pro-life former vice-presidential candidate and Alaska governor Sarah Palin.

About 80 percent of the women in the poll favored Obama over Palin while just 01 percent, according to Politico, said they would back the pro-life woman.

Even among the so-called “drop off voters” — those women who backed Obama in 2008 and either voted Republican or stayed home in 2010 — just 12 percent said they had a favorable view of Palin.

Some 66 percent of those voters had a negative view of Palin, with 44 percent saying their impression of her is very negative.

A new survey earlier this week from the Marist Institute for Public Opinion shows pro-abortion President Barack Obama’s popularity has reached a new low and potential opponent Mitt Romney would defeat him.