The latest Public Polling Policy poll of Missouri voters shows Republican candidates Mitt Romney and Ron Paul do the best in hypothetical general election match ups with President Barack Obama in Missouri.
After trailing Mr. Romney in a September PPP poll, the president is now tied at 45 percent with him. Mr. Paul trails the president by two percentage points. In their head to head match up, Mr. Obama finished with 45 percent, trailed by Mr. Paul who finished with 43 percent.
Additionally, the Texas congressman does better than the president when it comes to independent voters. Mr. Paul finished with 47 percent of independent voters, trailed by Mr. Obama who finished with 36 percent of independent voters.
Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum trails the president by three percentage points, as he finished with 44 percent, compared to 47 percent for the president.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich does the worst out of the Republican field in Missouri. In their head to head match up, the president finished with 49 percent of the votes, compared to 42 percent for Mr. Gingrich.
The new poll shows vast improvement in Missouri for Mr. Obama, as he trailed Mr. Romney in three separate PPP polls conducted there between May and November of 2011.
“It’s been a good week for Barack Obama in our polling,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “He’s leading Mitt Romney nationally and in Ohio, and now tied with him in Missouri. The big question is whether this is just a State of the Union bounce or something that might prove to be more long lasting.”
The president’s job approval rating has also improved in Missouri. The PPP poll released Thursday shows that his job approval rating is five points higher than it was in the September PPP poll of Missouri voters, at 45 percent.
If the head to head match ups are any indication of how Missouri voters will vote for the four remaining candidates in the upcoming Missouri Republican primary election, Mr. Romney will likely win the state. The Missouri primary occurs on Tuesday February 7th, the same day as the caucuses in Minnesota and Colorado.
The PPP poll was conducted among 582 Missouri voters between January 27th and January 29th with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.
