The Polling Report [12.19.12]

“Tradition trumped suspense Monday as members of the Electoral College cast the official, final votes in an exhausting 2012 presidential election, a constitutional formality on President Barack Obama’s march to a second term,” the AP reports. The casting of votes occurred in each of the 50 state capitol buildings and in D.C. In Arizona, the crazy racist birthers there took the opportunity to once again complain that a white man is not president.

“[T]hree of [Arizona’s 11 Electors] said questions remain about whether Barack Obama was born in this country,” Arizona Public Radio reports. Said state GOP Chairman Tom Morrissey: “I’m not satisfied with what I’ve seen. I think for somebody in the president’s position to not have produced a document that looks more legitimate, I have a problem with that.” Birther Arizona elector tells TPM: “Yeah, some people are going to say, ‘Oh, those stupid Arizonans, there they go again.’ But, you know, I’d rather be right than popular.”

In this case, you are neither. I hereby demand that all three produce their original long form birth certificates. I can tell them preemptively that I will find all three illegitimate and demand their immediate deportation to Europe.

MICHIGAN–GUBERNATORIAL APPROVING RATINGS—PPP: Gov. Rick Snyder (R) is one of the most unpopular governors in the country now, and the reason is that he decided to pass a right to work law. Only 38% of voters approve of him, while 56% disapprove. Snyder’s approval rating dropped a net 28 points from the weekend before the election.

“There’s not much doubt that it’s the right to work law and his embrace of other actions by the Republican legislature that are driving this precipitous drop in Snyder’s popularity. Only 41% of voters in the state support the right to work legislation, while 51% are opposed to it. If voters got to decide the issue directly only 40% of them say they would vote to keep the law enacted, while 49% would vote to overturn it.”

NEW JERSEY–SENATOR–The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Newark Mayor Cory Booker (D) “is leaning against jumping into next year’s race for New Jersey governor and instead is having serious discussions about running for the U.S. Senate in 2014, according to three people familiar with the matter.”

FLORIDA–GUBERNATORIAL APPROVAL RATINGS—Quinnipiac: Gov. Rick Scott (R) has a 36% approval rating, and a 45% disapproval rating, and a majority saying he doesn’t deserve a second term. 53% of Republicans would like another candidate for governor in 2014.

“The rejection of Scott appears to be driven more by policy than personality: Voters like Scott as a person 36 – 32 percent, but they dislike his policies 52 – 32 percent. One bright spot – a total of 49 percent of voters are very or somewhat satisfied with the way things are going in Florida, higher than it’s been so far during Scott’s term.”

FLORIDA–GOVERNOR–DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY—ClearView Research: Former Gov. Charlie Crist (D) 55%, Alex Sink (D), 34%.

NATIONAL–GUN CONTROL—ABC News/Washington Post: 54% of Americans now favor stricter gun control laws, numerically a five-year high, and 59% support a ban specifically on high-capacity ammunition clips.

NATIONAL–PRESIDENTIAL APPROVAL RATINGS—ABC News/Washington Post: The President’s approval rating is at 54%, his highest (excepting a brief bin Laden bounce) in nearly two years. The President also leads the Republicans in trust to handle the economy by 18 percentage points, his widest margin since July 2009.