Obama may lose to unnamed Republican challenger in 2012: Varsity poll

Washington, July 22 (ANI): An unnamed Republican challenger is likely to defeat incumbent US President Barack Obama in the 2012 elections, if the outcome of a new Quinnipiac University poll is to be believed.

According to Politico, thirty-seven percent of those surveyed said they intend to vote for a Republican in the next presidential election, compared with 27 percent who said they plan to vote for Obama. The rest either didn't know or said their decision would depend on who the Republican candidate was.

According to the poll, only 44 percent of the 2,181 registered voters surveyed said they approve of the way Obama is handling his job. Forty-eight percent disapprove of the president's performance.

On the economy, which consistently rates as voters' top concern, 56 percent of those surveyed disapprove of Obama's performance, compared with 39 percent who approve.

Fifty-one percent disapprove of his handling of the Gulf Coast oil spill, and 58 percent said the same of the president's job on immigration.

Support for the war in Afghanistan too has hit a new low, with 48 percent saying it is the "right thing to do." In April, 56 percent thought the war was the "right thing to do."

The poll was conducted July 13-19 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.1 percentage points. (ANI)