Romney surges among rural voters in swing states

Via the Hagstrom Report, by ag reporter Jerry Hagstrom, we find a poll that actually could mean something. The Center for Rural Strategies commissioned Democratic polling firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research to poll rural voters in nine swing states, with help in poll design and interpretation by GOP polling firm North Star Opinion Research.

Conducted Oct 9 – 11, showed Mitt Romney surging to a 22-point lead against President Obama,  59 percent to 37 percent, with 4 percent undecided. The survey covered voters in rural counties in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin.

The Center for Rural Strategies news release said this:

“In the 2008 race, Obama trimmed the Republican advantage among rural voters in closely contested states to only 2 percent. But the new poll, which was fielded after the first presidential debate, shows rural support for the president dropping.

“Not only has President Obama’s support eroded (from 2008), post debate it’s eroded even more,” said Anna Greenberg. “It’s a pretty sobering result.”

The poll found “a rapid decline for President Obama in every issue area covered in the poll.”

Obama clearly cannot afford a bad performance tonight.

Carolyn Lochhead