Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Middle-class leans Romney in make or break moment

Middle-class leans Romney in make or break moment

byJoel Gehrke Commentary Staff Writer

President Obama often warns middle-class voters that they face a "make or break moment" in this presidential election, but new polling shows that those voters favor Mitt Romney.

"Mitt Romney currently has a 49 percent to 45 percent edge over Barack Obama among middle-income voters, those whose annual household income is between $36,000 and $89,999," Gallup reports today. "And within the middle-income group, Romney is running stronger among political independents and is competitive with Obama among middle-income women."

The polling results, if they hold through the election, undermine a central plank of the Obama campaign strategy this year as outlined in his campaign kickoff speech in Ohio last month. "In talking about a 'make-or-break moment,' Obama was trying to raise the stakes in the election—and thereby make the prospect of changing horses seem riskier," New York Magazine's John Heileman wrote last week in a long piece on Obama's campaign plans, as explained by the president's top aides.

Gallup noted that Obama holds a major lead among poor and minority voters, but that may prove less significant on election day because lower-income voters turn out at a lower rate (69 percent) than middle (83 percent) and upper-income voters (87 percent).

http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/middle-class-leans-romney-make-or-break-moment/578266

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