Poll: Ron Paul Strongest Against Obama In Head To Head Matchup Also named most truthful GOP candidate in separate study
GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul is leading the incumbent president in a hypothetical matchup, according to a newly released poll from respected pollster Rasmussen.
Paul scores 43% over 41% for Obama in the poll, with 10% saying they would vote for some other option, a figure that includes 17% of Republicans.
Paul also picks up 15% of the vote from self-identified liberals, according to Rasmussen.
Mitt Romney is the only other candidate to lead Obama in the poll, scoring 45% to Obama’s 43%. Paul polls the strongest, however, given that he drives the president’s numbers down further than Romney.
A hypothetical Paul nomination also drives the undecided voters up significantly.
Senator Rick Santorum trails the president nationally by two percentage points, 45% to 43%. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich trails even further behind when pitted against Obama, with a ten point deficit, 49% to 39%.
Paul has regularly emerged as the strongest contender in other polls when matched head to head with Obama. This is the first time, however, that he has done so in a Rasmussen poll.
The poll shows a significant drop in approval ratings for Obama, who has seen a recent bounce in the polls throughout the first two months of the year.
Forty-two percent (42%) now Strongly Disapprove of the way that Obama is performing as president. His overall approval rating is down six points since mid February, according to Rasmussen.
In a separate study by The Houston Chronicle, Ron Paul was named the most truthful of the GOP contenders.
Ron Paul “had 58 percent accuracy from 33 statements that were evaluated on their honesty and truth.” The Chronicle’s ‘Texas on the Potomac’ blog explained. “Paul’s true and mostly true categories were the most plentiful, tied with seven statements in each.” the report continued.
The Chronicle used fact checking site PolitiFact to analyze statements from each of the candidates and assign accuracy values.
Ron Paul was also found to have had the lowest percentage of ‘half truths’, according to the study, with 18 percent. Newt Gingrich was found to be the most untruthful candidate, with just 42 accuracy points.