Poll: Obama Leads Romney Strongly in Michigan; More Voters Support Same-Sex Marriage
President Barack Obama is ahead of presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney among Michigan voters in the race for president, a new poll shows, and is leading in part because of strong support among women.
Obama was leading 45.1 percent to 39.5 percent in the Glengariff Group Inc. poll, with 15.4 percent undecided; the margin of error is 4 percentage points.
Obama enjoys far stronger support among women, leading Romney 47.3 percent to 35 percent, while being nearly tied with Romney among men, 43.8 to 43.1 percent. The results pose a potential “gender gap” problem for Romney, pollster Richard Czuba said Friday. The Republican needs to be wary of that margin, he added.
“Barack Obama, if he wins, will win it on the women’s vote,” Czuba said. “I think, for the Romney campaign, that is the issue now, making headway with the gender gap.”
Regardless of female support, Obama’s overall support in Michigan is well below 50 percent. As an incumbent, Czuba said, that indicates the Democrat-leaning state may be in play come November; Obama won the state handily in 2008.
“This is not a slam dunk by any means,” Czuba said. “It’s a race.”
Indeed, Republicans said Obama’s support looks weak for an incumbent. “No. 1, this is great news,” said Saul Anuzis, former chairman of the state Republican Party and a member of the Republican National Committee. The poll “shows how much trouble (Obama’s) in. If Barack Obama loses Michigan, he loses the White House.”