A new national survey from Fox news shows both former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum suffering a bit on favorability with American voters as the Republican presidential primaries continue — Romney is seen favorably by 39 percent of voters nationaly against 49 percent who see him in a negative light, while Santorum gets a 35 – 47 split on the question. In January, only 34 percent of voters had a negative view of Santorum, resulting in a jump of 13 points over the last two months.
In direct matchups, President Obama bests both Republicans, 46 – 42 against Romney and 51 – 39 against Santorum. Obama also has a positive approval rating in the Fox poll for the second month in a row, as February was the first time the President was above water on the metic since the summer of 2011.