Poll: Election winner won't impact economy much

Published Jun 25, 2012 at 10:00 am (Updated Jun 25, 2012)

When it comes to the economy, half of Americans included in a new poll say it won't matter much whether Barack Obama or Mitt Romney wins the presidency this fall, even though the candidates have staked their chances on which would be better at fixing the economic mess. People are especially pessimistic about the future president's influence over jobs, according to the Associated Press-GfK poll. Asked how much impact the November winner will have on unemployment, six in 10 gave answers ranging from slim to none. A majority of those surveyed—55%—say the winner will have either "just some impact" or "no impact" on the nation's huge budget deficits. Those with little confidence that the winner can fix things are also more pessimistic overall; just 32% of them think the economy will improve in the coming year. In contrast, among those who expect a substantial impact from the winner, almost half think the economy will get better. Republicans are more likely than Democrats to predict that the winner's imprint will be felt; 58% say the election's outcome will affect the economy overall. Yet fewer than half of Republicans foresee much impact on joblessness. The poll, conducted June 14-18, included landline and cell phone interviews with 1,007 adults nationwide. Read the full story here for more survey results.