Views of Perry Turn More Negative Since First Debate, By NATE SILVER

[jefferson_dem]

Views of Perry Turn More Negative Since First Debate
By NATE SILVER

Whether Mitt Romney has gained ground on Rick Perry in the Republican primary race is questionable. Polls released since Mr. Perry’s first debate on Sept. 7 show him leading Mr. Romney by an average of 8 percentage points. By contrast, Mr. Perry led Mr. Romney by 11 points in polls released between the announcement of his candidacy on Aug. 13 and the Sept. 7 debate.

There is some clearer evidence, however, that Mr. Perry’s numbers have worsened some among general election voters.

First, we can look at Mr. Perry’s favorability ratings among the broader electorate.



Three polling firms asked voters for their views of Mr. Perry between the announcement of his candidacy and that first debate. In those surveys, views on Mr. Perry were equally divided. An average of 29 percent of Americans said they had a positive view of him and 29 percent a negative view, with the remaining 42 percent not yet knowing him sufficiently well or not yet having formulated a firm opinion.

Mr. Perry’s numbers have been in net-negative territory in four polls released since the first debate, however. On average, 27 percent of respondents held a positive view of Mr. Perry in these polls, while 38 percent held a negative one.

<SNIP>

http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/21/views-of-perry-turn-more-negative-since-first-debate/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter