Romney supporters like to make much of polls that purport to show that their guy is “electable.”
However, new polling data from Rasmussen seems to be saying that there’s more than one “electable” candidate in the field (emphasis added):
With the perception growing that he will be the GOP nominee, Romney leads President Obama by five points in a hypothetical 2012 matchup. Today’s numbers show Romney at 48%, Obama at 43%. That’s Romney’s largest lead since December. Matchup results are updated daily at 9:30 a.m. Eastern (sign up for free daily e-mail update).
If Santorum is the Republican nominee, he is up by one point over the president, 46% to 45%. This is the second time since polling began in 2011 that Santorum has had a slight lead over Obama. Romney is the only other candidate to lead the president more than one time in the polls. See tracking history for Obama vs. all four Republican candidates.
Now, bear in mind that back in 1980, the polls at this point in the cycle said that Carter would crush Reagan… and we all know how things actually turned out. So, as always, take polls like this with a large grain of salt.
However, it’s interesting that Santorum, once written off as “unelectable,” now has a lead — albeit a slim lead — over Obama.
Perhaps Santorum could be “electable” too?
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