Clarus Research 2012 Presidential Survey

• Barack Obama (D) 39%
• Mitt Romney (R) 36%
• Michael Bloomberg (I) 13%

• Barack Obama (D) 42%
• Sarah Palin (R) 31%
• Michael Bloomberg (I) 18%

Because of term limits, Bill Clinton cannot run for President again. But, just suppose for a moment, that he could run again––in that case, would you prefer Barack Obama or Bill Clinton to be elected President?

• Bill Clinton 45%
• Barack Obama 29%

Even though the President before Obama––George W. Bush––also cannot run for president again because of term limits, just suppose for a moment that he could run again––in that case, would you prefer Barack Obama or George W. Bush to be elected President?

• Barack Obama 48%
• George W. Bush 44%

I am now going to read to you a couple of statements about government and politics… please tell me whether you agree or disagree with each one––

In many ways, America is in decline and we need strong, competent leadership to get us back on track.

• Agree 85%
• Disagree 11%

It would be good for the country to elect a nonpartisan President who is neither a Democrat nor a Republican.

• Agree 48%
• Disagree 38%

THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS WERE ASKED ONLY OF REPUBLICANS…

As you may know, there are a number of Republicans who are considering running for president in 2012. Please tell me which ONE of the following would you most likely vote for if the presidential primary were held today… Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich, Chris Christie, John Thune, Haley Barbour, Tim Pawlenty, Ron Paul, Bobby Jindal, Marco Rubio, or Mitch Daniels…

• Mitt Romney 19%
• Mike Huckabee 18%
• Sarah Palin 17%
• Newt Gingrich 10%
• Chris Christie 9%
• Marco Rubio 5%
• Ron Paul 4%
• Bobby Jindal 4%
• Tim Pawlenty 3%
• Haley Barbour 2%
• John Thune 2%
• Mitch Daniels 2%
• Undecided 5%

Thinking more about the 2012 election…

Would you prefer the next Republican presidential candidate be someone with legislative experience in Congress …or… someone with management experience as a governor?

• Management experience/governor 65%
• Legislative experience/Congress 15%

If you had to pick between the two––would you prefer the next Republican presidential candidate be someone with experience in government …or… someone with experience in private business?

• Experience in private business 53%
• Experience in government 28%

If you had to pick between the two––would you prefer the next Republican presidential candidate be someone known for clear and consistent philosophical principles …or… someone known to be intelligent and competent?

• Someone who is intelligent and competent 49%
• Someone with clear and consistent philosophical principles 37%

If you had to pick between the two––would you prefer the next Republican presidential candidate be a moderate conservative who has a good chance of beating Barack Obama …or… someone who is an outspoken conservative who has only a fair chance of beating Barack Obama?

• A moderate, pragmatic conservative 61%
• A staunch, outspoken conservative 29%

Do you think someone in his or her early 40s is too young to be President?

• Yes 20%
• No 76%

Survey of 1,000 registered voters, including a sub-sample of 365 registered Republicans, was conducted December 10-16, 2010. The margin of error is +/- 3.1 percentage points among all registered voters; +/- 5.1 percentage points among registered Republicans.