Mitt Romney is going to be the official anointed candidate of the GOP, but he has a big problem; a whole lot of people simply don’t like him: Record Number See Romney Negatively; Obama Outpaces Him in Popularity.

Mitt Romney trails Barack Obama by 19 points in basic popularity as the 2012 presidential contest inches closer to the main event, with a record 50 percent of Americans in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll now rating Romney unfavorably overall.

Thirty-four percent hold a favorable opinion of Romney, the lowest for any leading presidential candidate in ABC/Post polls in primary seasons since 1984. His unfavorable score is higher than Obama ever has received; it’s been exceeded by just one other Republican candidate this year, Newt Gingrich, and by only one top candidate in 28 years, Hillary Clinton in 2008.

Obama, for his part, remains above water — 53 percent favorable, 43 percent unfavorable in this poll, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates. It’s Obama’s third consecutive month with a rating more than 50 percent positive, after dipping to 47 percent in September, the lowest of his presidency.

And the people who really don’t like Romney are the very same ones who will have to hold their noses and vote for him in November:

Although higher unfavorable ratings among independents, Democrats and liberals pushed Romney to a 50 percent overall negative rating this week, his more pressing problem, with the primaries still on, is his relative lack of popularity among core GOP groups.

Romney’s seen favorably by 62 percent of Republicans and 47 percent of conservatives overall, including 54 percent of strong conservatives. Obama fares much better on the other side of the political spectrum — 86 percent favorable among Democrats, 75 percent among liberals.