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Half of Americans Believe President Obama Will Be Re-Elected in November

March 27, 2012-- While the Republicans are still fighting it out for the nomination, President Obama remains out of the election fray and this may be helping his approval ratings hold steady. Just like last month, two in five Americans (40%) give the President positive ratings for the overall job he is doing while three in five (60%) give him negative ratings.

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,451 adults surveyed online between March 12 and 19, 2012 by Harris Interactive .

Looking at the possible swing states for the general election (Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohioand Virginia) just over two in five Americans in these nine states (42%) give the President positive ratings while 58% give him negative marks.

By political party and ideology, just 7% of Republicans and 14% of Conservatives give President Obama positive ratings. Among Independents two-thirds (67%) give him negative ratings but just over half of Moderates (54%) feel the same. Among the President's party, three-quarters of Democrats (75%) give President Obama positive ratings and one-quarter (25%) give him negative ratings. Among liberals, two-thirds (67%) give the President positive marks and 33% give him negative ratings.

Direction of the Country and Most Important Issue

Another thing that has stayed the same from last month is the direction Americans think the country is going. Again this month over one-third of U.S. adults (34%) say things are going in the right direction while two-thirds (66%) say things are going off on the wrong track.

When it comes to the two most important issues for the government to address, it's almost all about the economy in some way. Over one-third of Americans (36%) believe the government needs to address employment and jobs while three in ten (30%) say it is the economy in general. One in five U.S. adults (21%) say the government should address healthcare while 12% say they need to deal with gas and oil prices and 11% say the issue is the budget deficit and national debt.

President Obama's re-election chances

Status quo seems to be a theme this month for President Obama. If the election for president were to be held today, it is close with 45% of Americans likely to vote for him, 49% unlikely to vote for him and 7% who are not at all sure. Last month, 48% of U.S. adults said they would be unlikely to vote to re-elect the President and 45% said they would be likely to do so. Looking at this by party, nine in ten Republicans (89%) and half of Independents (52%) would be unlikely to vote for him, while four in five Democrats (80%) would be likely to do so.  In the likely 2012 swing states, 49% say they would be unlikely to vote for the President while 44% say they would be likely to vote for him.

When it comes to what Americans think will happen on Election Day, the numbers are moving and they are moving in the President's direction. Last month, over two in five Americans (46%) thought President Obama would be re-elected while 37% thought he would not be re-elected. This month, half (50%) of U.S. adults now believe he will be re-elected while 32% say that he will not be and 18% are not at all sure.

So What?

As the Republicans head into more primaries with a presumptive nominee but a battle to prove it, President Obama is on the sidelines and mostly free from their attacks. That seemed to help him last month and has at least allowed him to stay steady this month. But, as the overall economy ever so slowly inches back, the President now has to deal with rising gas prices putting a new crimp on people's wallets. If these high prices linger, the thoughts of a recovery may start to fade.