First we get David Nir's frontpage report that Scottie Walker has reached the fifty percent mark in a PPP poll when matched up against both frontrunning Dem Tom Barrett and his closest competition Kathleen Falk. Now, we've got the first Gallup tracker matching Romney against Obama in the general, and Romney's got a two point lead (47-45) among registered voters, and a six point lead (46-39) among independents.
All is not lost. The article puts in perspective polling data from this far out:
Gallup editor-in-chief Frank Newport said the horse-race numbers this early in the election year have not always been a reliable indicator of the final outcome. In 1992, George H.W. Bush led Bill Clinton by double-digits. Jimmy Carter led Ronald Reagan by 8 percentage points at a similar stage in 1980.
It also, however, notes that Obama might not be in great shape:
But historically, polling below 50% in the first trial heat has been an ominous indicator for incumbent presidents. Obama's approval rating in the latest daily tracking poll is 45%.
We've got a lot of work to do. And we absolutely need the economy to keep improving.