What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending January 6, 2012

Like a weathered old gunslinger who has to face down every newcomer who thinks he’s faster on the draw, Mitt Romney has yet another challenger stepping out of the pack. First it was Michele Bachmann followed by Rick Perry; then it was Herman Cain. Next came Newt Gingrich, and now it’s Rick Santorum.

After his photo finish with Romney in last Tuesday’s Iowa caucuses, Santorum is now in second place among Republican voters in the race for the party’s 2012 presidential nomination.  Romney’s back in first place with support from 29%, followed by Santorum with 21%. Gingrich, who led in late November with 38% of the vote, now runs third with 16%. Texas Congressman Ron Paul, the third place finisher in Iowa, picks up 12% of the vote, up from eight percent (8%) in the previous survey.

In the short term, Romney doesn’t appear to have any worries. Next up is the first-in the-nation New Hampshire primary on Tuesday, and the former Massachusetts governor is pulling far ahead.  His nearest rival now trails him by more than 20 points.

The night before the primary, Scott Rasmussen will host a political talk show, “What New Hampshire Thinks with Scott Rasmussen,” in partnership with WBIN-TV, based in Derry, N.H.  The 9 pm Eastern program on Monday will include new Rasmussen Reports numbers on the New Hampshire primary race. Segments from the program will be released Tuesday on the Rasmussen Reports website.

6% of GOP Voters Ready to Vote Third Party If Their Favorite Isn’t The Nominee

Texas Congressman Ron Paul at a debate Saturday night in New Hampshire refused to rule out a third party run for the presidency if he fails to win the Republican nomination. But there’s minimal support for a third party candidate among Republican voters even if their favorite candidate is not the nominee.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that six percent (6%) of Likely Republican Primary voters nationwide say they would vote for a third party candidate if the candidate they’re backing for the GOP nomination comes up short. Slightly more (8%) say they would vote for President Obama if that was the case. But 78% of these GOP voters plan to vote for the Republican candidate no matter what. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

The national survey of 1,000 Likely Republican Primary Voters was conducted on January 4, 2012 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

WBIN to Partner with Rasmussen Reports for Political Roundtable on Eve of New Hampshire Primary

WBIN will partner with nationally known pollster and political analyst Scott Rasmussen for a political talk show on the eve of the New Hampshire Presidential Primary:  “What New Hampshire Thinks with Scott Rasmussen.”  WBIN will also announce the results of a Rasmussen Reports survey conducted in partnership with WBIN during the broadcast.

6% Say Congress Doing Good or Excellent Job, 68% Say Poor

Ratings for Congress now match the lowest levels ever recorded and a solid plurality continue to believe that most Members of Congress are corrupt.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just six percent (6%) of Likely U.S. Voters rate the job Congress is doing as good or excellent.  Sixty-eight percent (68%) view Congress’ job performance as poor.  (To see survey question wording, click here.)

From January 2007 through December 2010, with Democrats in control of both the House and Senate, Congress earned good or excellent marks ranging from nine percent (9%) to 26%, although generally their rankings were in the low teens for most of this period. 

WHAT AMERICA THINKS with Scott Rasmussen

Recognizing the heightened interest in this upcoming presidential election year as well as the public’s curiosity in opinion polling results, Telco Productions, Inc. is launching the half-hour weekly show, What America Thinks with Scott Rasmussen. The show is scheduled for a fall, 2012 debut. Affiliate stations will also receive a daily one-minute vignette produced specifically for local newscasts and featuring a new Rasmussen poll.

Just 6% Think Most Politicians Keep Their Campaign Promises

Voters remain overwhelmingly convinced that most politicians won’t keep their campaign promises, but they’re a little less convinced that their elected officials deliberately lie.

New Low: 6% Think Congress Is Doing A Good or Excellent Job

Voter approval of the job Congress is doing has fallen to a new low - for the second month in a row.

Just six percent (6%) of Likely U.S. Voters now rate Congress' performance as good or excellent, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Last month, Congressional approval ratings fell to what was then a record low with eight percent (8%) who rated its performance good or excellent.

Partisan Trends: 35.6% Are Republicans, 34.0% Democrats, 30.4% Unaffiliated

In May, the number of Republicans in the country increased to its highest level so far this year.

Discover® U.S. Spending Monitor (SM) Consumer Confidence Falls 2.6 Points in March

Consumers' confidence sharply rebounded in January, fueled by a surge in the number of middle-income consumers who see improvement in the U.S. economy and in their personal finances are improving, according to the Discover U.S. Spending Monitor.

Discover (R) U.S. Spending Monitor (SM) Consumer Confidence Jumps 5.6 Points in January to Three-Year High

Consumers' confidence sharply rebounded in January, fueled by a surge in the number of middle-income consumers who see improvement in the U.S. economy and in their personal finances are improving, according to the Discover U.S. Spending Monitor.

Obama’s Full-Month Rating Improves in January

When tracking President Obama’s job approval on a daily basis, people sometimes get so caught up in the day-to-day fluctuations that they miss the bigger picture. To look at the longer-term trends, Rasmussen Reports compiles the numbers on a full-month basis, and the results can be seen in the graphics below.

Rasmussen Employment Index Up Slightly in January

The Rasmussen Employment Index made a modest gain in January to reach 77.2.

Confidence Among Small Business Owners Rebounds in January

After falling in December, confidence among small business owners rebounded in January as more see the economy and economic conditions for their businesses improving, according to the Discover(R) Small Business Watch(SM). The monthly index rose to 91.0 this month, up 9.4 points from December 2010 and 5.5 points higher than one year ago, the highest the index has been since December 2007 when it stood at 92.7.

January's Unemployment Report Was a Snow Job By Lawrence Kudlow

The January employment report was a complete snow job. Abominable winter blizzards across the country caused 886,000 workers to report "not at work due to bad weather," according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is 600,000 more than the normal 300,000 not at work for the average January of the past decade.

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending January 28, 2011

First things first. Next week we’re looking for your opinion to help us shape our products now and in the future. Rasmussen Reports will conduct a reader survey next Tuesday through Friday. Please give us feedback about our current website and content, and help us decide what to add in the future.

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending January 21, 2011

Things appear to be looking up a bit for President Obama who on Friday posted his highest job approval numbers in nearly a year in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll. 

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending January 14, 2011

It’s back to business for the new Congress this coming week following the tragic shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and the killing of six others in Arizona. First up in the House is a vote to repeal the national health care bill passed last year by Democrats in the previous Congress.

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending January 7, 2011

The Washington landscape for the next two years began to take shape this past week, with Republicans taking charge of the House and President Obama shaking up his White House staff to meet the challenge of his new, energized opposition.

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending January 29, 2010

Is it really over?

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Ending on March 6, 2010

Spring’s not far away, but for many Americans, it’s going to be winter for a lot longer than that it says on the calendar.