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Poll: More negative view of GOP, Romney post-election

Posted at 11:29 PM, Dec 12, 2012
and last updated 2012-12-12 23:29:37-05

(CNN) — A new poll shows the former GOP standard bearer Mitt Romney and the Republican Party’s image took a hit after the election.

An NBC/Wall Street Journal poll conducted one month after Election Day and released Wednesday indicates the GOP’s favorable rating slipping with 30% percent of respondents viewing the party favorably, down from 36% before the election.

Forty-five percent now view the party unfavorably, up from 43% before the election. Before the election, Romney’s favorable rating was at 43%. The number has since dropped to 35%. His unfavorable rating has remained at 44% from before November 6.

Romney drew negative headlines after the election for a controversial audio recording released of him on a private call with donors. On the call, Romney said President Barack Obama won re-election largely because of election season “gifts” he gave to certain groups, like undocumented immigrants given a chance to stay in the U.S. without fear of deportation if they enter the military or seek higher education.

The poll shows an uptick in positive opinion of President Barack Obama since the election. Fifty-three percent of respondents approve of the job he’s doing as president, higher than at any point during the campaign season, and the same percentage reported feeling “optimistic and confident” or “satisfied and hopeful” about the next four years.

The poll also finds that the public overwhelmingly wants the White House and congressional Republicans to reach a deal to avoid the looming fiscal crisis. If lawmakers fail to reach common ground by the year-end deadline, automatic tax rate increases and federal spending cuts will go into effect, potentially dipping the U.S. economy back into a recession.

Sixty-eight percent of respondents characterized the so-called fiscal cliff as a “serious” or “very serious” problem and two-thirds are willing to compromise on tax increases or spending cuts to reach a deal.

Wednesday’s poll falls in line with other recent polls suggesting Americans are looking to Washington for a deal to avoid the fiscal crisis.

The NBC/Wall Street Journal poll was conducted from December 6-9 among 1,000 adult respondents. The poll’s sampling error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.