Mitt Romneys favorability rating on the rise

By MICHAEL FALCONE
6/25/09 5:08 AM EDT


Mitt Romney's favorability rating has climbed to 40 percent. Photo: AP

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s favorability rating has spiked since the 2008 presidential primary, according to a Pew Research Center poll released Wednesday.

The Republican’s favorability rating has climbed to 40 percent — a 10-point increase over the past 16 months. The Pew poll found that 28 percent of Americans view him unfavorably and another 32 percent don’t know.

Just days before Romney bowed out of the race last February, following the Super Tuesday primaries, 30 percent rated him favorably and 44 percent said they held an unfavorable opinion of him.

Despite the surge, Romney trails Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who is rated favorably by 45 percent. But almost as many — 44 percent — take the opposite view of the Alaska governor. Her June favorability rating is also 5 percentage points below where she was in September 2008, shortly after Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) tapped her to be his presidential running mate.

The national poll of 1,502 adults, which was conducted June 10-14, found that Palin was more popular among Republicans than the three other prominent GOP figures who were tested — Romney, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele.

Among Republicans, 73 percent view Palin favorably, compared with 57 percent for Romney, 55 percent for Gingrich and 28 percent for Steele, who is still not widely known.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0609/24169.html