Subject: [big campaign] PEW: GOP "leadership" favorability #s - Past, present & breakdowns
From: Aniello Alioto <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:07:51 -0400
List-Id: <bigcampaign.googlegroups.com>

http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1263/gop-favorability-romney-palin-gingrich-steele

Who's Your Favorite Republican? Romney's Ratings Up; Palin Still Polarizing

June 24, 2009

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has seen his favorability ratings
improve and now enjoys a positive balance of opinion among the general
public: 40% rate him favorably, 28% unfavorably. This marks a reversal of
opinion from February 2008, during the latter stages of the GOP primary
campaign, when just 30% viewed him favorably and 44% expressed an
unfavorable opinion.

The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the
Press, conducted June 10-14 among 1,502 adults reached on landlines and cell
phones, finds that impressions of Sarah Palin have not changed much since
the presidential campaign. Palin continues to be a divisive figure among the
general public, with about as many saying they have an unfavorable
impression (44%) as a favorable view (45%) of the Alaska governor.

Among Republicans, however, the balance of opinion about Palin is more
positive than it is regarding Romney or two other leading GOP figures, Newt
Gingrich and Michael Steele. More than seven-in-ten Republicans (73%)
express a favorable opinion of Palin while just 17% have an unfavorable
opinion. Romney, Gingrich and especially Steele are less familiar figures --
among the public overall and Republicans -- than is Palin. While comparable
percentages of Republicans rate Palin and the other Republicans unfavorably,
far more view Palin favorably. And Palin continues to be overwhelmingly
popular with key parts of the GOP base -- white evangelical Republicans (84%
favorable) and conservative Republicans (80% favorable).
Romney's Image Improves

Since February 2008, shortly before he abandoned his race for the GOP
presidential nomination, opinion of Romney has improved across most
political and demographic groups, but the shift has been particularly
pronounced among independents. In February 2008, just 29% of independents
had a positive impression of Romney while 46% had a negative view. Today,
that balance is reversed: 44% view Romney favorably and 25% unfavorably.

Positive opinions among both Democrats and Republicans have increased by
eight points since early 2008. Among Republicans, Romney has made identical
nine-point gains in favorability among conservative Republicans and moderate
and liberal Republicans; currently, 61% of conservative Republicans and 52%
of moderate and liberal members of the GOP express positive opinions of
Romney.

Romney's favorable ratings have not changed significantly among white
non-Hispanic evangelical Republicans; 54% have a favorable opinion now,
compared with 52% in February 2008. Among all other Republicans, by
contrast, positive opinions of Romney have increased by 11 points, while
negative opinions have fallen considerably (from 31% to 16%).
Sarah Palin Favorability

Almost a year after capturing the attention of the political world as John
McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin remains a broadly popular figure within
the Republican Party, despite receiving mixed reviews from the public as a
whole.

Palin received her highest overall favorability rating of 50% in
mid-September 2008, shortly after McCain named her as his vice-presidential
running mate. At that time just 34% expressed an unfavorable opinion of the
Alaska governor, while 16% offered no opinion. But her favorability slipped
later in the campaign. In mid-October, more people expressed an unfavorable
opinion of Palin (48%) than a favorable opinion (42%). Since the election,
public views of Palin have shifted only slightly.

Unlike Romney, Palin's ratings continue to be much better among conservative
Republicans (80%) than among moderates and liberals in the party (62%). And
while positive views of Palin have slipped among non-evangelical Republicans
(from 77% to 67%), they remain overwhelmingly positive among white
evangelical Republicans (84%, 85% last October).

Notably, as was the case during the election, Palin is rated somewhat better
by men than she is by women. About half of men (48%) say their overall
opinion of Palin is favorable, while 40% say it is unfavorable. Among women,
the picture is reversed: 48% offer an unfavorable view, 41% a favorable one.
This difference largely arises from gender differences in party affiliation.
For instance, among Republicans, men and women express similar views of
Palin (73% favorable).

Palin receives a more favorable rating from those with a high school degree
or less (48% favorable, 36% unfavorable) than she does from college
graduates (41% favorable, 52% unfavorable). Regionally, she is somewhat
better regarded in the South (49% favorable) than she is in the Northeast
(39% favorable).
Newt Gingrich

The public also is divided in its views of former Speaker of the House Newt
Gingrich. More than a third (35%) express a favorable opinion of Gingrich,
while 38% say they have an unfavorable view of him. More than a decade after
resigning his House seat, Gingrich remains relatively well-known with most
Americans (73%) able to offer an opinion of him.

Opinion of Gingrich breaks along partisan lines, with the views of
independents falling almost equidistant from those of Republicans and
Democrats. A majority of Republicans (55%) rate Gingrich favorably, 22% rate
him unfavorably. Democratic views are the reverse: 21% have a favorable
opinion of Gingrich while 54% take a negative view. Independents are evenly
divided (37% favorable, 38% unfavorable).

As with other leading Republicans, Gingrich is rated higher by conservatives
in his party than he is by Republican moderates and liberals. In addition,
Gingrich is not as well-known among those younger than age 30 (44% no
opinion) as he is among older Americans (22% no opinion among those ages 30
and older).
Michael Steele: Not Widely Known

Michael Steele's public profile is not as prominent as Palin's, Romney's or
Gingrich's. However, the balance of opinion among those who offer an opinion
of the Republican National Committee Chairman is generally favorable. About
a quarter 23% have a favorable opinion of Steele, 14% express an unfavorable
opinion and a 63%-majority cannot rate him.

Positive views of Steele outnumber negative ones among both Republicans (28%
to 14%) and independents (26% to 13%). Democrats who offer an opinion of
Steele are evenly divided (19% favorable, 17% unfavorable). Among
Republicans, Steele's two-to-one ratio of favorable to unfavorable ratings
lags well behind the balance of positive-to-negative opinion for Palin,
Romney and Gingrich.

Notably, young people and African Americans are more familiar with Steele --
and express more favorable opinions of him -- than do older people and
whites. Nearly half of those younger than age 30 express an opinion of
Steele -- the highest percentage of any age group -- and the balance of
opinion is more than two-to-one favorable (33% favorable, 15% unfavorable).
Older age groups express more mixed opinions of Steele.

The balance of opinion about Steele among blacks is also positive (33%
favorable, 16% unfavorable). Among whites, 66% offer no opinion of Steele
(compared with 51% of blacks), and just 20% have a favorable impression
while 14% have an unfavorable one.

Find the topline questionnaire and survey methodology at
people-press.org<http://people-press.org/reports/questionnaires/524.pdf>
.

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