A new poll from Fox News shows former Massachusetts Gov. and presumptive Republican nominee leading President Obama in a nationally matchup. Romney gets 46 percent of registered voters as Obama sees 44, the Presdient’s approval rating dropping in Fox’s polling to 42 percent against 51 percent disapproval. Last month a Fox poll showed Obama’s job approval at a positive 47 – 45 split.
Independent voters break for Romney in the poll by six, as do men by fourteen, and Obama retains an eight point advantage with women.
President Obama has had a lead in nearly every nationally poll over the last few weeks, and one reason the Fox poll produces a different result may be the partisan breakdown — independent voters, typically the biggest group in the electorate, make up less than twenty percent of the poll’s sample. Democrats and Republicans are sampled evenly, even though Democrats have historically held an advantage on partisan ID.
