ABC News pollster Gary Langer pointed to their exit poll numbers as evidence that while Republicans do think that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney provides their party with the best opportunity to win the the White House in November, they still have major issues relating to the candidate. From ABCnews.com:
A divided outcome that confirmed more than it settled, underscoring Romney’s advantages in the strength of his resume and the sense he’s best suited to defeat Barack Obama, but also marking his deficits among Republicans focused, instead, on a “true conservative,” strong moral character, shared religious beliefs, ideological benchmarks and blanket anti-abortion sentiment.
In Ohio, the headline battleground state, 50 percent of voters picked Romney as the candidate best able to win in November, more than twice as many as saw Rick Santorum as most electable. But when asked which candidate “best understands the problems of average Americans,” the tables turned – Romney’s tally dived to 22 percent, while a third, instead, picked Santorum.