New polling data from multiple sources shows pro-abortion President Barack Obama hitting his lowest levels of support at any time point in his presidency.
Gallup tracks daily the percentage of Americans who approve or disapprove of the job Barack Obama is doing as president and its results are based on telephone interviews with approximately 1,500 national adults. The new Gallup survey out today shows 50 percent of Americans disapprove of the job Obama is doing while just 40 percent approve.
Obama hit a 50 percent disapproval level in Gallup’s survey just once — in August 2010 — and his approval rating has never dropped to 40 percent before.
The numbers come before today’s difficult economic news showing GDP rising lower than expected and the Dow dropping significantly on the news. The survey also is conducted with only adults rather than registered or likely voters and polls using voters or those most likely to turn out for an election typically show better numbers for Republicans. That makes it so Obama’s numbers may be worse off than the meager 40 percent approval rating he received from Gallup.
The Gallup survey follows a late July poll of 1,500 registered voters by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press that finds support for Obama among independents has fallen from 42 percent in May to 31 percent while his disapproval with them has shot up to 54 percent.
“The sizeable lead Barack Obama held over a generic Republican opponent in polls conducted earlier this year has vanished,” Pew said. “Currently, 41% of registered voters say they would like to see Obama reelected, while 40% say they would prefer to see a Republican candidate win in 2012. In May, Obama held an 11-point lead.”
The Pew survey finds while the 11 point lead over a generic Republican, which Obama had in May after the death of Osama bin Laden, Republicans are still not focused on his replacement as just 24 percent have given much thought to their 2012 options. Overall in the GOP race, Mitt Romney continues to hold a significant lead among Republican voters with 21%, followed by Rick Perry at 12%, Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann at 11%, Ron Paul at 9% and Herman Cain at 8%.
Still, the survey finds just 31% of independent voters want to see Obama reelected, down from 42% in May and 40% in March. Where Obama held a slim 7-point edge among independent registered voters two months ago, a generic Republican holds an 8-point edge today. This is consistent with a drop in Obama’s approval among all independents. Currently, a majority (54%) disapprove of Obama’s performance for the first time in his presidency. His approval among independents has slipped to 36% from 42% last month and 49% in late May.
They survey shows that, while Texas governor Rick Perry is a relatively new name in discussions of the GOP race, he is drawing strong interest from highly attentive Republicans. Among Republican and Republican-leaning registered voters who say they have given a lot of thought to the candidates, 22% support Perry, 15% Romney, 13% Bachmann and 12% Cain.
Obama’s polling numbers will continue to bounce around between now and the November 2012 election, but they have fallen to a level that makes it clear he will not enjoy an easy re-election campaign. The 2008 results that had him picking up some traditionally Republican states are highwater marks for Obama now — and the competitive 2000 and 2004 election cycles are back in play for next year.
