Poll shows Romney bid for president faces hurdles (501 'adults')

boston glob ^ | 3/11/05 | Frank Phillips, Globe Staff

[bitt]

A majority of Massachusetts adults said Governor Mitt Romney should not run for president in 2008, according to a Boston Globe poll that also indicated Romney would face a tough battle if he seeks reelection to a second term as governor in 2006.

Only 28 percent of those surveyed said Romney should seek the presidency, while 53 percent said he should not, and 19 percent said they had no opinion. Forty-eight percent said he would not make a good president if elected, and 33 percent said he would.

The poll also found Romney facing some serious political problems at home if he seeks another term. Just 32 percent said he should be reelected governor if he runs in 2006, while 50 percent said someone else should be elected. Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly, a Democrat, was favored over Romney, 48 percent to 41 percent, in a matchup for governor.

Not surprisingly, Romney's support is strongest among Republicans. Sixty-nine percent of Republicans surveyed said he should be reelected, compared with just 12 percent of Democrats and 31 percent of independents. But his potential White House bid is not popular, even among many Massachusetts Republicans, with 39 percent of Republicans saying he should not run for president and 35 percent saying he should.

Andrew E. Smith -- director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, which conducted the poll -- attributed some of Romney's problems to the sluggish Massachusetts economy.

The

[bitt]

might as well ask the same question of tree stumps in Dorchester, you'd get the same answers...

"poll of 501 adults in Massachusetts was taken March 5-8. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points."

[Semper Paratus]

Globe is in a full court press against Romney and are injecting snarkey comments about Mormonism and polgyamy.

[JohnnyZ]

Romney is in full court press against Romney and is dead set on losing in 2006.

[AMPatriot]

"Only 28 percent of those surveyed said Romney should seek the presidency..."

This is misleading. As a MA republican I think Romney would make an excellent president but I don't want him to run because he's the only thing standing between me and the knee-jerk liberals in this state.

[Radix]

Both the Globe and the Herald have been undermining the Romney administration regularly.

The Globe I understand, but the Herald slamming him as they do is a bit unexpected for me.

[qam1]

Romney signed the smoking ban in his state, So obviously he is a RINO like Bloomberg, Pataki and Rowland who doesn't respect private property.

Keep him in Massachusetts.