(08/16/12) -

Romney Gains, Obama Drops in United States Presidential Race

This month, the president is not the top choice for independent voters and his lead among women has dwindled.

Republican challenger Mitt Romney is now ahead of Democratic incumbent Barack Obama in the United States presidential race, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.

In the online survey of a representative national sample of 1,007 American adults, 49 per cent of decided voters (+2 since July) say they will vote for Romney in this year’s presidential election, while 45 per cent (-2) would support Obama.

Romney remains popular among male voters, and holds a double-digit lead over his rival on this demographic (52% to 42%). Obama’s national numbers have fallen mainly due to a reduction in support among female voters. In July, Obama was 12 points ahead of Romney. This month, the Democrat’s lead is just three points (48% to 45%).

Respondents aged 35-to-54 are split when assessing the candidates (48% would vote for Obama, 47% for Romney). The President keeps a sizeable lead among voters aged 18-to-34 (50% to 39%), while three-in-five voters over the age of 55 (61%) would cast a ballot for Romney.

Independent voters provide another noticeable shift. Last month, Obama held a six-point advantage among this group of decided voters. In August, the incumbent president trails his Republican challenger by seven points (46% to 39%).

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 August 15 to August 16, 2012, Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 1,007 randomly selected American adults who are Springboard America panelists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 3.1%. 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.