Poll: Ann Romney popularity climbing

{mosads}Michelle Obama’s approval rating is 67 percent, while Ann Romney’s is 56 percent. 

Both women continue to be more popular with voters than are their husbands, at percentages on par with previous first ladies and prospective first ladies from the last few presidential campaigns. 

President Obama is seen favorably by 55 percent, compared to Mitt Romney at 47 percent, according to an ABC News/Washington Post poll released Tuesday. Both ratings are the candidates’ personal best this year.

Michelle Obama and Ann Romney both have more bipartisan supporters than do their husbands, with an unfavorability rating among members of the opposite political party hovering around 50 percent, compared to the 80 percent for their respective husbands.

A poll from the same source released last April also showed the two women had favorability ratings higher than either of their husbands. At that time, Ann Romney was not very well-known, and about 30 percent of those polled had no opinion or had not made up their minds about her yet. Since she stepped into the national spotlight at the end of August with her speech during prime time to the Republican National Convention, a much larger percent of the country has weighed in, and most of them favorably.

Both women have become mainstays on the campaign trail for their husbands, headlining their own rallies and fundraisers as well as making regular media appearances.

The poll was conducted between Oct. 4 and 7 and has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.