CBS/NYT Poll: Romney Edges Obama

By Jon E. Dougherty at 19 Jul 2012

(Newsroom America) -- A new CBS News/New York Times poll shows Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney with the slightest of edges over President Obama, 47-46 percent, with 4 percent undecided - results that are well within the survey's margin of error.

Other results from the survey include:

-- Romney leads among men by eight points; Obama leads among women by five points;

-- Obama's supporters more strongly back him, with 52 percent saying so, while just 29 percent said they "strongly" back Romney;

-- More than 1 in 3 registered voters said they were backing Romney because they disliked Obama; just 8 percent of those surveyed said they backed Obama because of dislike for Romney, the presumptive GOP nominee;

-- Republicans are more enthusiastic about voting: Roughly half said they are more enthusiastic than past elections (up from 36 percent in March), compared to just 27 percent of Democrats;

-- One in five voters said they could still possibly change their mind before Election Day, and the percentage of voters who said so was the same for both candidates;

-- A plurality of voters, 54 percent, said the economy and jobs are "extremely" important to them this election, more than any other issue. Romney has a clear advantage, the survey said: 49 percent of registered voters say he would do a better job handling the economy and jobs, while 41 percent cite Obama.

"Romney is also seen as better on the federal budget deficit (50 percent to 36 percent), taxes (47 percent to 42 percent) and illegal immigration (46 percent to 38 percent). Mr. Obama as seen as better on foreign policy (47 percent to 40 percent) and social issues (48 percent to 37 percent). Views of the candidates on health care and terrorism were split," the survey said.

The poll was conducted by telephone from July 11-16, 2012 among 1,089 adults nationwide. Phone numbers were dialed from samples of both standard land-line and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups may be higher.

Newsroom America Twitter Feed