A generic Republican candidate now holds a four-point lead over President Obama in a hypothetical 2012 election matchup. It's the fifth week in a row that the GOP candidate has been ahead and the widest gap between the candidates to date.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds a generic Republican candidate earns support from 46% of Likely U.S. Voters, while the president picks up 42% of the vote. Three percent (3%) prefer some other candidate, and nine percent (9%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Last week, the Republican held a 45% to 43% advantage. In weekly surveys since the beginning of May, support for Obama has ranged from 42% to 45%, while the Republican has earned 43% to 46% of the vote. Rasmussen Reports will provide new data on this generic matchup each week until the field of prospective Republican nominees narrows to a few serious contenders.
Republicans also hold a seven-point lead over Democrats on the Generic Congressional Ballot for the week ending Sunday, June 26. Republicans have led on this ballot every week since June 2009.
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The survey of 3,500 Likely Voters was conducted on June 20-26, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 2 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney continues to lead the race for the Republican nomination, but Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann has surged into second place following the June 13 GOP debate.
In president’s total job approval ratings are a good indicator of what percentage of the vote he may earn in the 2012 presidential race. Aside from a brief bounce in support following the killing of Osama bin Laden, Obama’s approval ratings have hovered in the high 40s for the past 18 months.
Eighty-four percent (84%) of GOP voters support a generic candidate from their party, while almost as many Democrats (81%) favor Obama. Voters not affiliated with either political party prefer the Republican 42% to 37%.
Male voters prefer the Republican by 12 points; female voters give a three-point edge to Obama. Voters under the age of 30 favor the incumbent, while middle-aged voters are evenly divided. Voters over 50 support the Republican.
Ninety-five percent (95%) of black voters favor Obama, while 53% of whites support the Republican. Voters of other races are evenly divided.
Conservatives (79%) overwhelmingly support the Republican, while 81% of liberals - and a plurality (49%) of moderates - favor Obama.
Seventy-nine percent (79%) of the Political Class back the president, but 54% of Mainstream voters like the Republican instead.
Voters are more willing than ever to elect a woman president, and most think there’s a good chance a woman will win the White House in the next 10 years.
Nearly half of U.S. voters give Obama poor marks for his handling of the economy, but he continues to earn higher respect for his performance in the area of national security. Almost as many (44%) give him positive marks on his leadership, though.
Most voters still want to repeal the national health care law, and confidence that the law will improve the quality of health care has fallen to a new low.
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Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Election 2012: Generic Presidential Ballot - Rasmussen Reports™
MySpace Sold for $35 Million
The day that the web has been buzzing about has finally come: It seems that MySpace has been sold to an advertising network called Specific Media for a mere $35 million.
News Corp. declared it was ready to sell MySpace in an earnings call in February. The media company was reportedly hoping to get $100 million out of the sale.
News Corp bought the site for $580 million from its original owners, but MySpace’s traffic has plummeted in recent years.
All Things Digital reports that the deal will close Wednesday but has not yet been signed. News Corp. will reportedly hold a 5% to 10% stake in the company.
Other reports this week indicated that close to 50% of the site’s staff could be cut after the sale goes through, and it’s likely that any further iterations will focus on music.
We’ve reached out to MySpace for comment.
Dive boat leaves US tourist 30 miles offshore - World news - Asia-Pacific - msnbc.com
An American tourist on a snorkeling trip to see Australia's Great Barrier Reef was left behind by his tour boat while about 30 miles offshore, according to reports Wednesday.
Michigan native Ian Cole, 28, said he panicked when he surfaced to find the boat had left after a mistaken head-count, the local Cairns Post newspaper reported, according to the AFP news agency.
A third of teens who drink, take drugs are addicted - Health - Addictions - msnbc.com
Nearly half of all U.S. high school students currently smoke, drink or use other drugs, and a third of users meets the medical criteria for addiction, according to a report out Wednesday.
Oil Climbs Most in Six Weeks as Supplies Drop More Than Expected - Businessweek
Oil rose the most in six weeks in New York after the U.S. government reported that supplies dropped almost three times as much as expected.
Crude advanced as much as 3.2 percent as the Energy Department said inventories fell for a fourth week, the longest stretch of declines this year. Imports decreased after the International Energy Agency’s June 23 announcement that its members will release 60 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves, including 30 million barrels from the U.S.
“The numbers were very bullish for crude,” said Carl Larry, director of energy derivatives and research with Blue Ocean Brokerage in New York. “They show that we’re losing a lot of imports already, and we could see more of a decline in expected deliveries to the U.S. because of the IEA release.”