One day after clinching the Republican presidential nomination, Mitt Romney received another piece of positive news on Wednesday, as a poll showed a double-digit uptick in his favorability among female voters and a notable improvement among moderates.
While results of the new ABC-Washington Post poll show President Barack Obama continues to be viewed more favorably by women and the overall voter pool, Romney is beginning to gather more support.
Although his favorability numbers among female voters are still low at 40 percent, Romney did gain 13 percentage points since last month. Meanwhile, Obama lost seven points in the key Democrat constituency.
However, these numbers could shift as prominent women's groups such as Planned Parenthood make their first attacks against Romney since his official nomination.
"An ABC/Post poll last week found improvement for Romney in vote preferences among married women," a release by Langer Research Associates said. "This survey finds that his gains in personal favorability, instead, come predominantly among unmarried women, who saw him uncommonly negatively earlier this spring."
However, Obama is still viewed more favorably among women and overall voters, leading Romney 51-40 among women and 52-41 among all adult voters polled.
Romney's chronically low numbers could hurt his campaign if they don't pick up at a faster rate before the general election.
"Romney's 35 percent favorability in April was the weakest on record for a presumptive presidential nominee in ABC/Post polls in primary seasons since 1984," the release said. "While he's since gained 6 points overall, he's still less popular than most previous eventual nominees at this stage of a presidential campaign."
Romney also gained nine points among moderates and six points among independent voters, boosting him to 39 percent and 40 percent favorability, respectively among these important swing groups.
Obama, meanwhile, lost ground among both key demographics, dropping from 63 percent to 58 percent among moderates and from 53 percent to 43 percent among independents.
The president won the 2008 election with 56 percent of the female vote and 60 percent of the moderate vote. Fifty-two percent of independents also voted for him.
The latest numbers among independents could benefit Romney more than the female vote.
This poll marks the first time in three months Obama's unfavorable numbers are higher than his favorables among independents.
And with only a three-point difference in the favorability rates for the two rivals among independents, Romney could claim this group among his key supporters going into the November general election.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com