Poll: Romney Would Beat Obama if Election Held Today

Talk about buyers remorse. A new poll says, if voters had a do-over on the 2012 election, Mitt Romney would win.

The ABC News/Washington Post poll says registered voters would tilt toward Romney by a 49-45% margin. Those numbers reflect a falling popularity rating for President Obama due, in part, to the botched ACA rollout.

The results overall represent a sharp turnaround in fortune for Obama and his party, which just a month ago were ascendant over the Republicans in views of the budget dispute that led to a partial government shutdown. Today 45 percent of Americans call Obama “too liberal,” matching the high, and 46 percent say the same about the Democratic Party. And perhaps adding insult to injury, registered voters divide numerically in Mitt Romney’s favor, 49-45 percent, if they had a mulligan for the 2012 presidential election. While the difference between the two is within the poll’s error margin, Obama’s support is 6 points below his actual showing a year ago.

Indeed, even with the stock market soaring and GDP and the jobs market gaining ground, disenchantment with Obama has damaged his most critical issue-specific approval rating, for handling the economy. Fifty-seven percent disapprove, up by 9 points since May and the most since March 2012.