President 2012 North Carolina Poll Watch: Mike Huckabee Leading President Obama 47% Vs. 46%

According to latest PPP Presidential Poll:

Head to Head:

• Obama – 46% Vs. Huckabee – 47% (49% Vs. 45%)
• Obama – 47% Vs. Romney – 44% (same)
• Obama – 48% Vs. Gingrich – 44% (50% Vs. 43%)
• Obama – 51% Vs. Palin – 41% (50% Vs. 41%)

Favorable Vs. Unfavorable:

• Obama – 47% Vs. 48% (49% Vs. 47%, month ago)
• Huckabee – 43% Vs. 34%
• Romney – 37% Vs. 39%
• Gingrich – 30% Vs. 48%
• Palin 37% Vs. 57%

Not a good poll for President Obama who needs a win in North Carolina as it is one of the key battleground states for the 2012 Presidential race.

Compared to a month ago Obama’s dropped 5 points against Huckabee, who he led 49-45 last time and 2 points against Gingrich who he led 50-44 last time. His numbers against Romney remain unchanged and he’s actually gained a point on Palin.

The main reason for his diminished standing when matched against Huckabee is that Obama now trails him by 5 points with independents, where a month ago the President actually held an 11 point advantage. That’s consistent with a bit of downward turn in Obama’s numbers with independents nationally, which had seen a spike in January in the wake of the Tucson shooting and the Republicans assuming control of Congress.

The full poll is here (Pdf).

PPP surveyed 650 North Carolina voters from February 16th to 21st. The survey’s margin of error is +/-3.8%. Other factors, such as refusal to be interviewed and weighting, may
introduce additional error that is more difficult to quantify.