The Tide is Turning for Romney....

Wisconsin: Romney 47%, Obama 44%


Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Mitt Romney now leads President Obama for the first time in Wisconsin where the president's support has fallen to its lowest level to date.

The latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of Likely Voters shows Romney with 47% of the vote to Obama’s 44%. Five percent (5%) prefer some other candidate, and four percent (4%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Prior to this survey, Obama's support in the state has ranged from 45% to 52%, while Romney has earned 41% to 45%. Last month, the numbers were Obama 49%, Romney 45%. The president led his likely Republican challenger by 11 points in March - 52% to 41%.

Just last week Republican Governor Scott Walker won a special recall election prompted by Democrats outraged over his successful move to limit collective bargaining rights for some unionized public employees in order to reduce Wisconsin's budget deficit.

Most voters (51%) in the state view public employee unions unfavorably, while 46% share a favorable opinion of them. This includes 33% with a Very Unfavorable view of the unions and 27% with a Very Favorable one. The president draws overwhelming support from voters who view public employee unions favorably, while Romney draws equally heavy support from those who view them unfavorably.

Forty-seven percent (47%) of voters in Wisconsin approve of the job Obama is doing, while 52% disapprove. These findings include 27% who Strongly Approve of the president’s job performance and 44% who Strongly Disapprove. These ratings are comparable to those measured nationally in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll.

Romney is viewed favorably by 49% of Wisconsin voters and unfavorably by 45%. These numbers include Very Favorable reviews from 23% and Very Unfavorable ones by 30%.

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The survey of 500 Likely Voters in Wisconsin was conducted on June 12, 2012 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Fifty-eight percent (58%) of Wisconsin voters say the choice between Obama and Romney is one they are excited about, while 34% say they will simply be voting for the lesser of two evils this November. This is a higher level of enthusiasm in Wisconsin about this year’s matchup than that measured nationwide.

The president is ahead 54% to 45% among voters who are excited about the 2012 matchup. Romney leads 48% to 33% among those who are just choosing the lesser of two evils.

Among voters not affiliated with either major political party in the Badger State, Romney draws 43% support to Obama’s 38%.

Male voters in the state prefer Romney 52% to 37%, while female voters support the president 50% to 42%.

In Wisconsin, 45% of Likely Voters rate their personal finances as good or excellent, while 14% describe them as poor. Twenty-seven percent (27%) believe their finances are getting better, but 39% say they are getting worse.

Though a plurality (46%) of Wisconsin voters recognizes that the government lost money in the bailouts of General Motors and Chrysler, 45% consider the auto industry bailouts a success. Thirty-six percent (36%) regard the bailouts as a failure. However, when told that the government is expected to lose billions of dollars on those bailouts, just 33% consider them a success, and 56% see them as a failure. This is comparable to findings nationally.

Romney also leads in North Carolina and Missouri. The race is a toss-up in Iowa, Ohio, Virginia, Florida and Colorado. Obama leads in Pennsylvania.