I don’t know about you, but I’m not the least bit surprised by this data. Ardent Romney supporters are few and far between, yet there seems to be a collective acceptance of, “he will probably be our nominee.” But how’s he polling? A recent Purple Poll concluded the following:
Mitt Romney’s position in the Purple Electorate has weakened slightly over the past two months. In September, 32% of Purple state voters had a favorable view, with 39% holding an unfavorable view. Today, his favorability has decreased by 2 points (30%), and his unfavorable level has increased by 6 points (to 45%).
Herman Cain is more polarizing: 28% of voters in the Purple electorate have a favorable view, with a majority (52%) having an unfavorable opinion. Among women, those numbers are worse: 23% favorable, 53% unfavorable. Thirty-three percent (33%) of voters have a favorable view of Newt Gingrich, with 48% holding an unfavorable view.
Romney’s challenge is clear when looking just at Republicans: he has the lowest favorables of the field as tested (42%, compared to 56% for Gingrich and 46% for Cain). Building strength among Republicans remains a core challenge.
Data in this survey indicate trouble in the Purple electorate for both Rick Perry and Herman Cain. Asked which GOP candidate they would definitely NOT support, 22% said Perry, and the same percentage said Cain. Just 10% said the same about Romney. Interestingly, among Republicans, just 10% said they would definitely not vote for Romney, compared to 26% who wouldn’t vote for Rick Perry.
No one other than Reagan incarnate will ever pass our ridiculous ‘purity’ tests which will ultimately leave us with Romney, who is also not polling well in the swing states. And the GOP primary plot thickens…
(h/t Politico)