How is romney still competitive

Subscribe to the Gallup News brief and real time alerts. Stay up to date with our latest insights. The Republican has led Obama on this measure in three of the last four months.

If they don't improve, both readings bode poorly for President Obama's re-election. The recent Virginia and New Jersey state elections played out in the context of broad, national trends relating to the mood of the nation, the economy and the role of government.

Notice: JavaScript is not enabled. Please Enable JavaScript Safely. Bottom Line Gallup polling suggests that, among the three leading Republican candidates for the Republican nomination, Romney has the biggest crossover appeal between the right- and left-leaning wings of the party.

Survey Methods Results are based on telephone interviews conducted as part of Gallup Daily tracking Oct. Romney to properly handle issue after issue — national security, the Middle East, taxes, health care, the economy in general, Medicare, immigration.

Obama wins on everything the pollsters asked about, in fact, except the budget deficit. The Republicans have had an amazing degree of success selling themselves as budget hawks, even though they have increased the deficit during all three of their presidencies since they started the whole starve-the-beast and live within your means nonsense about government under Ronald Reagan.

It would, however vastly increase the burden on middle-income Americans and those farther down the ladder, according to every non-partisan assessment. The ideas of his running mate, Paul Ryan, are worse.

Obama must make this case to the voters. For Huntsman, "maybe it would be a showdown," but it could also be a big win, the lieutenant governor said.

Although there has been speculation Romney's campaign is behind the push for a February primary, Bell said he's been working on it for months — even before Huntsman was seen as a likely candidate. Herbert spokeswoman Ally Isom said the governor had not been pressured by Romney's campaign to move up Utah's primary. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, said. Bramble said regardless of whether Romney would be helped by an earlier primary date, it's worth taking another look at making the change.

The issue was raised in the Senate GOP caucus a few weeks ago and is expected to come up again next month. House Speaker Becky Lockhart, R-Provo, said she wasn't convinced an earlier primary is a good idea — or even one that lawmakers will be asked to consider. Start your day with the top stories you missed while you were sleeping.

Cookie banner We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. By choosing I Accept , you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Print Subscriptions. Deseret News homepage. And a Romney-Gingrich duel, if that's how it develops, could be a long one.

Asked which of these two comes closest to them on the issues, leaning Republicans divide almost exactly evenly, percent. That said, either Romney or Gingrich may suffice in the end: Each is the leading second choice among those who have a different first choice. Among all Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, 36 percent view Romney's record on health care when he was governor of Massachusetts as a major reason to oppose him for the nomination.

That's trouble enough - but among very conservatives, it jumps to 55 percent. Gingrich has his own vulnerability: Republicans by an point margin, percent, have an unfavorable impression of his work as a political consultant after he left elective office, with nearly a quarter undecided. Romney, by contrast, gets a favorable rating for his experience as a corporate buyout specialist, a point on which Gingrich has criticized him. Romney and Gingrich alike clear other hurdles. Neither Romney's Mormon faith, nor Gingrich's three marriages, appear to be significant negatives to most potential GOP voters.

Majorities believe both candidates have the personality and temperament to serve effectively as president 67 and 61 percent, respectively and think they'd pursue policies most Americans would find acceptable 71 percent for Romney, 66 percent for Gingrich.