Divisive Primary Takes Toll on Republicans

March 04, 2012

Divisive Primary Takes Toll on Republicans

A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows that the combative Republican primary season has damaged the party and its candidates.

Key findings: 40% say the GOP nominating process has given them a less favorable impression of the Republican Party and when asked to describe the GOP nominating battle in a word or phrase, nearly 70% of respondents answered with a negative comment.

Said GOP pollster Bill McInturff: "The word you'd have to use at this stage is: Corrosive."

The damage to Republicans has given Democrats an early advantage for November's general election. President Obama's job-approval rating now stands at 50% and he leads Mitt Romney in a hypothetical general-election match up by six points. In addition, Democrats hold a five-point edge on the generic congressional ballot.

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Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including the Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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March 04, 2012