TPM: The Chart Democrats Don’t Want GOP Voters To See

From Talking Points Memo: [font size="4"]The Chart Democrats Don’t Want GOP Voters To See[/font]

[font face="times new roman" color="darkred" size="3"] Republican voters are certainly happy with the fire that Gingrich is providing, as the one common thread that GOP voters share this cycle is a desire to see President Obama run out of office. But if that is their goal, then Newt’s surge doesn’t make much political sense. See the chart below.

Gingrich’s favorability among general election voters — the metric that many pollsters argue is the key to understanding how the public feels about a candidate — is not high. It certainly improved when Newt surged nationally in early December, gaining more media attention as Republicans and GOP-leaning independents started to feel better about him. But since he was crushed by negative ads in Iowa, leading to a fourth place finish there and in New Hampshire, Newt’s favorability numbers have again plunged — his unfavorability score hit 58 in a CNN poll, 56 in a Fox News survey, and 60 in Public Policy Polling (D) data.

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...But if the chart above says anything at all, it’s that the embrace of Gingrich is a problem for Republicans in 2012. And that has to have Democrats smiling. [/font]