Mitt Romney Basks in Glow of Strong Debate Performance

Most people would agree that Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney easily won the first Presidential debate between himself and President Barack Obama.

As a matter of fact, according to a recently released Gallup poll, 72% of all debate watchers believed that Mitt Romney did the better job in last Wednesday's debate. 20% thought that President Obama did a better job, while 9% were undecided. Gallup reports that this 52 point margin of victory is the largest win amongst all debate-reaction polls that Gallup has ever recorded. Prior to last Wednesday's debate, the previous largest margin of victory occurred during the 1992 town hall debate between George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton (Clinton won by 42 points).

How poorly did President Obama perform last Wednesday? According to Gallup, just 39% of Democrats believe that President Obama outperformed Mitt Romney in the first debate.

--

The latest polling results were released by organizations such as Gallup and the Pew Research Center earlier today, and the polls show that Romney has significantly increased his chances of winning in November thanks to his strong performance in the first debate.

According to Gallup.com, 47% of those surveyed said that they support Mitt Romney for President, while 47% said that they support President Obama.

Prior to the debate, President Obama enjoyed a 5 point lead (50% to 45%) in the very same poll.

According to the Pew Research Center, 46% of registered voters said that they support Mitt Romney, while 46% said that they support President Obama. In mid-September, 51% of registered voters said that they supported President Obama, while just 42% said that they backed Mitt Romney. That's an impressive nine point swing in less than a month.

Amongst "likely voters", the most recent Pew Research Report poll reveals that Mitt Romney enjoys a 49% to 45% lead over President Obama.

According to RasmussenReports.com, Mitt Romney and President Obama both have the support of 48% of voters nationwide. 44% of voters said that they are "certain" that they will vote for Mitt Romney, while 42% of voters said that they are certain to vote for President Obama.

--

There is less than a month left until voters cast their votes.

Three debates loom large between now and November 6th - the Vice Presidential debate that is scheduled for later this week, and the remaining two Presidential debates (October 16th and October 22nd).

Can President Obama bounce back and re-seize the momentum in a race that he seemed destined to win just one week ago, or will Mitt Romney continue to gather steam and support?

Filed under: General Knowledge