A new poll from ABC News and the Washington Post shows that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s favorability has moved up among Americans, but is still net negative overall. Romney is seen favorably by 38 percent of Americans in the new poll, versus 42 percent who see him in a negative light. Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum sees a negative 36 – 40 split, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich remains unliked at 24 – 56.
The numbers also show what seems to be the reason that Romney has had so much trouble sewing up the Republican nomination for president even though he matched against what is percieved to be weaker competition — the views of fellow party members. From ABC News:
Within the GOP, 63 percent express a favorable opinion of Santorum, vs. 58 percent for Romney – not a statistically significant difference, but a challenging one for Romney given his advantages in campaign spending and, until recently, name recognition. Gingrich trails with just 43 percent favorability in his own party, a point from his low two weeks ago.
Among other groups, Santorum is seen favorably by 54 percent of conservatives, 59 percent of “very” conservatives and 72 percent of conservative Republicans in this poll, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates. That’s 9 points more than Romney’s score in each of those groups, with Gingrich again trailing them both.
The TPM Poll Average still shows Romney in negative territory, even though he has recovered somewhat from his lows in February.
