Mitt Romney, the expected Republican presidential nominee, has closed the gap with President Barack Obama by pulling into a tie with registered voters, according to a CBS News/New York Times poll released Wednesday.
Obama and Romney each garnered support from 46 percent of registered voters polled.
These numbers show a 3 percent increase by Romney since March. The poll also reported a 41 percent approval rating of Obama, the lowest of his presidency.
Fifty-five percent of registered voters said Obama understood their needs and problems. Asked the same question for Romney, only 31 percent said he understood their issues.
When breaking down the numbers between sexes, Obama led among women with 50 percent, while Romney led in support from men with 50 percent.
Boston University students with a variety of political opinions differed in their views on why Romney leapt up in the polls.
“Romney will now definitely be the nominee,” said Greg DeSocio, a School of Management senior and former president of the BU College Republicans. “You get that bump [in the polls] once you are declared the nominee. “
Although Romney is not the declared nominee, many voters tend to consider him the GOP candidate.
Sophie Miller, a College of Arts and Sciences sophomore and registered Democrat, said Romney’s rise is due to the frustration of Obama’s failures.
“The economy is really a hinge issue,” she said. “Since there haven’t been any drastic improvements, people are starting to lean toward Romney.”
Miller said Obama will be hard-pressed to generate the amount of support he received in the 2008 presidential election when he beat U.S. Sen. John McCain.
“He needs to find something as fresh as the ‘change’ and ‘hope’ that he ran on for his first term,” she said. “He promised a lot of change and we’ve seen some, but there are still a lot of areas where there have been disappointment within the Obama administration.”
DeSocio, a registered Republican, and Miller said they are not planning on voting for Obama in the 2012 election.
“I think he [Obama] does have a chance at winning,” Miller said. “But I would personally like to see the changes Romney has in store for the country.”
DeSocio said he was initially hoping that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie or Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels would run, but once the potential nominees were announced, Romney was his man.
Both Daniels and Christie have since endorsed Romney for president.
“Once the pool came out I supported Romney because I thought he was the most electable,” DeSocio said.
DeSocio said out of all the potential candidates, Romney could hold his own, present his own arguments and is the least controversial.
He said the race will be close, with Obama having an incumbency advantage.
“There is no sense in denying that Obama has magic,” DeSocio said. “He can come out and tell a crowd, ‘The sky is orange’ and people will believe him because he’s got a commanding presence. [Romney] has got to turn off the magic that Obama has. “
Miller and DeSocio acknowledged that the poll comes quite early in what promises to be a long and drawn-out campaign.
“The fact that Romney is pulling dead-even with Obama right now shows this will be a close race,” DeSocio said.
“I definitely take them seriously,” Miller said. “But I also understand if you do another poll another month later with an equal amount of legitimacy, it could very well change.”
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