Mitt Romney’s “47 percent” remarks are still reverberating in the presidential campaign, with a new poll showing that two-thirds of Americans have heard about the comments and a majority of them saying it could affect their vote, Politico reported.
The Pew Research Center poll found that 55 percent had a negative reaction to the remarks and 23 percent had a positive one, with a fifth had no reaction or a neutral reaction.
Last month, Mother Jones released a video from a closed-door Florida fundraiser in May showing Romney telling donors that 47 percent of Americans “are dependent upon government” and “believe that they are victims” — and that “they will vote for this president no matter what.”
Most Democrats, 88 percent, had a negative reaction to the Republican nominee’s comments and only 54 percent of Republicans had a positive one. Romney, who is trailing in swing states such as Ohio and Florida, needs independents to win the White House. But among independents, only 18 percent had a positive reaction to the remarks and 55 percent had a negative one.
Meanwhile, the Romney camp is getting ready to deal with the issue if it comes up during Wednesday night’s Denver debate.
“We wouldn’t be surprised, obviously, if that came up in the debate, and the governor’s prepared, obviously, to respond to that,” said Ed Gillepsie, a senior adviser to Romney, according to the Washington Post. “We believe the voters will see and appreciate the fact that what Governor Romney’s talking about would improve the quality of life for 100 percent of Americans.”
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