More Mainers disapprove of President Obama’s job performance than approve, but that doesn’t mean they’re ready for a Republican President just yet. All of Obama’s major challengers are bested in matchups against him in the Pine Tree State, as former Mass Gov. Mitt Romney makes it the closest at 49 – 38. The President is over 50 percent against everyone else.
Though 17% of his party disapproves of his handling of his duties, and 13% of Republicans approve, and independents disapprove by a three-point spread, Obama improves on all those marks against every single GOP foe. He earns 13% (against Romney) to 19% (versus Paul and Bachmann) of the Republican vote and cedes only 8% (Gingrich and Perry) to 11% (Paul) of his own party, while winning independents by margins of 13 (Romney) to 34 points (Cain). “Barack Obama probably doesn’t need to worry about actually winning Maine,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “But his being under water there in his approval numbers speaks to the difficulties he’s having even in states that he won by wide margins in 2008.”