Public Policy Polling for Daily Kos. Registered Voters. MoE 3.1%. 2/11-2/13/11 (previous week).
| FAVORABLE | UNFAVORABLE | NET CHANGE | |
|---|---|---|---|
| PRESIDENT OBAMA | 49 (51) | 46 (45) | -3 |
| DEMOCRATIC PARTY | 42 (46) | 48 (45) | -7 |
| REPUBLICAN PARTY | 36 (36) | 50 (49) | -1 |
| APPROVE | DISAPPROVE | NET CHANGE | |
| PRESIDENT OBAMA | 47 (49) | 48 (46) | -4 |
| HARRY REID | 23 (22) | 44 (45) | +2 |
| MITCH McCONNELL | 19 (19) | 38 (34) | -4 |
| REELECT OBAMA | GOP NOMINEE | NET CHANGE | |
| 2012 PRESIDENT | 47 (50) | 45 (44) | -4 |
Both President Obama's and the Democratic Party's numbers have softened a bit from their January peaks, but relative to the GOP, things are still going pretty well. President Obama still leads a generic Republican challenger and Democrats are still viewed more favorably than Republicans.
Obama's lead over a generic Republican currently stands a 47-45, down a bit from two weeks ago when he led 50-44. Although Democrats have a net favorable rating of negative 6, the GOP's net rating is negative 14. And while Harry Reid's job approval rating is nothing to brag about, Mitch McConnell's is just as bad, and might even be worse if more people had heard of him.
A total of 58% of voters say they are "very excited" to vote in the 2012 elections, unchanged from two weeks ago when we last asked the question. Democrats continue to maintain an edge here as well: 64% say they are very excited compared to 61% of Republicans.
Demographically, the two most excited groups are young people and African-Americans. A total of 80% of 18-29 year olds and 71% of blacks say they are very excited to vote in 2012. Ideologically, 66% of liberals say they are very excited to vote, compared with 64% of Tea Party supporters.
So net/net, despite the 2010 results, at the start of the 2012 cycle, the numbers for Democrats continue to look better than the numbers for Republicans.