Huffpost Politics: Politics Daily: Palin Seen More Negatively by Republicans Than Other Possible 2012 Candidates, Poll Finds

Huffpost Politics: Politics Daily: Palin Seen More Negatively by Republicans Than Other Possible 2012 Candidates, Poll Finds
If Sarah Palin is seriously considering a run for president in 2012, the latest poll on her standing among Republican candidates contains the same kind of bad news found in earlier surveys.

A Washington Post/ABC News poll, conducted March 10-13, found that among eight frequently mentioned candidates, Palin was viewed negatively by a significantly higher percentage of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents than the others. (Story; Poll data).

While 58 percent expressed a favorable view of her, those seeing her unfavorably added up to 37 percent. That's a jump from a year ago when the number of those seeing her unfavorably was 30 percent.

The only other potential candidate who came close was Newt Gingrich, who was see unfavorably by 26 percent.

Palin's 37 percent unfavorable number included those who had "somewhat" or "strongly" unfavorable opinions. Seventeen percent had a strongly unfavorable view of Palin, while all the other Republicans were in single digits in that column.

Mike Huckabee was the most popular in the poll, with 61 percent seeing him favorably and 18 percent unfavorably. Mitt Romney was next, with 60 percent seeing him favorably and 21 percent unfavorably.

The numbers for Haley Barbour, Tim Pawlenty, Jon Huntsman and Mitch Daniels don't mean much because 57 percent or more of those surveyed in each case didn't know enough to have an opinion.

A Bloomberg poll, conducted March 4-7 among all adults and not just Republicans, found 60 percent with a negative opinion of Palin.

When the Washington Post/ABC News poll of all adults conducted last December asked respondents whether they would support Palin for president or even consider it, 59 percent said they would not.