Majority of Obama opponents want new candidate in the race

A strong majority of voters who oppose President Obama’s reelection said
they wish another candidate would get into the race, according to a new
poll.

Fifty-eight percent of Americans who will definitely vote for or consider a candidate other than President Obama said in a new Bloomberg News poll Thursday they hope another candidate enters the fray.

{mosads}Twenty-eight percent said they’re mostly happy with the field of candidates running to unseat the president in 2012, while 14 percent were unsure.

While the poll doesn’t specifically gauge Republicans’ rating of their party’s presidential candidates, it takes a broader view of how satisfied Americans are with their alternatives to Obama.

Disappointment with the Republican field has driven a flurry of reports that new candidates could still enter the race, even at this late stage. Both Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) have had to shoot down reports that they’ll reconsider running, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) is now looking seriously at making a bid, in part because no candidate has stepped forward to fill the gap.

{mosads}The Bloomberg poll did provide some insight as to what Obama opponents are looking for in a new candidate. Eighty-three percent said they want a candidate who focuses almost entirely on social issues, compared to 10 percent who said they wish it were the other way around.

There are also some factors that could prove to be a dealbreaker for candidates:

– Seventy-five percent said past marital infidelity would make a candidate less attractive
– Sixty-seven percent said voting to raise the debt ceiling would make a candidate less attractive
– Sixty percent said supporting a tax increase in the past would make a candidate less attractive
– Fifty-five percent said wanting to change Medicare into a private pay system with government subsidies would make a candidate less attractive

The poll, conducted June 17-20, has a 5.9 percent margin of error for the subsample of respondents who will definitely vote for or consider a candidate other than President Obama.