Nearly half of U.S. voters say President Obama does not deserve a second term, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released Monday.
The poll found 49 percent of those surveyed thought the president does not deserve re-election in 2012. Forty-three percent said he deserves re-election, according to the Nov. 8-to-Nov. 15 nationwide telephone survey of 2,424 registered voters.
The poll also found Mr. Obama is in a statistical dead heat with potential Republican challengers Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee. However, he leads former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, another possible GOP candidate, 48 percent to 40 percent.
Mr. Romney, Mr. Huckabee, Mrs. Palin and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich are “bunched together” when Republican voters are asked whom they prefer for the GOP’s 2012 presidential nomination, the independent Quinnipiac University survey reported.
Roughly 64 percent of Democratic voters said they do not want anyone to challenge Mr. Obama for their party’s nomination in 2012.
Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the polling institute, said the Democratic base “remains squarely behind President Barack Obama when it comes to his re-election, but his weakness among independent voters at this point makes his 2012 election prospects uncertain.”
• Joseph Weber can be reached at jweber@washingtontimes.com.old.
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