(05/09/12) -

Romney Overtakes Obama in United States Presidential Race

Prospective Republican nominee gains five points since April, while Democratic incumbent drops four points.

Mitt Romney is ahead of Barack Obama in a head-to-head United States presidential match-up for the first time since January, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.

In the online survey of a representative national sample of 769 American decided voters, 49 per cent of respondents say they will vote for the prospective nominee for the Republican Party in the election. Support for Romney increased by five points since April, and reached the previous high the GOP contender posted in the first month of 2012.

Conversely, 46 per cent of decided voters would cast a ballot for Obama in the presidential election. The Democratic incumbent has lost four points since April.

Romney holds a ten-point advantage over Obama among male voters (52% to 42%), while the incumbent president keeps a slight edge among female voters (49% to 46%).

Practically three-in-five respondents over the age of 55 (57%) say they will vote for Romney. While Obama is still the preferred choice for voters aged 18-to-34 and 35-to-54, the Democratic incumbent has lost four and five points in each group respectively since April.

Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)

CONTACT:

Mario Canseco, Vice President, Angus Reid Public Opinion
+877 730 3570
mario.canseco@angus-reid.com

Methodology: From May 7 to May 8, 2012, Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 769 randomly selected American decided voters who are Springboard America panelists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 3.5%. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of the United States. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.