The Unpopularity of Mitt Romney

It's been argued to me that the unpopularity of Mitt Romney is stemming from his comparatively low name recognition. I'm prepared to give that some credence, but it's worth diving into the data. For one thing, the questions do specify partisan affiliations, so even if you have no idea who Mitt Romney is you've still got something to base your choice off of.

So it seems noteworthy that asking "Do you lead more toward Edwards, the Democrat; or Romney, the Republican?" -- this is Romney's worst matchup -- inspires fully 25 percent of self-identified Republicans to declare for "Edwards, the Democrat" on route to a shocking 61-27 route. You would think that the number of die-hard "I'll vote GOP no matter what" Republicans would be higher than 27 percent. Even in Romney's worst matchup, Hillary Clinton is getting 54 percent of the vote, which is outstanding considering how high her negatives are.