Poll: Obama Would Beat Santorum On His Home Turf

Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum has made his ability to win the state he once represented a key argument of his struggling Presidential campaign.

“Pennsylvania is a swing state. We win Pennsylvania, we win the election,” Santorum argued during last month’s GOP debate in Las Vegas. “I’ve won it twice.”

However, according to a new poll from Pennsylvania’s Franklin and Marshall College, Obama would lead the former Senator in his home state by 38 to 25 percent if the election were held today.

Although, as he has stressed during the debates, Santorum has twice won his home state, he was ousted in the 2006 midterm elections by Democrat Bob Casey by a wide 59 to 41 percent margin.

The poll also found Obama leading the GOP field’s frontrunners among the state’s voters. In a match-up with Mitt Romney, Obama leads 35 to 26 percent. Against Herman Cain, Obama leads 38 to 24 percent and against Rick Perry Obama leads by his widest margin, 40 to 20 percent.

However, despite besting his challengers, 52 percent of Pennsylvanians responded that they did not believe Obama deserved re-election as opposed to just 42 percent who say he does.

The survey, released Thursday, was conducted among 525 adults between October 24^th through 30^th.

Cain Dogged By More Allegations, Points Finger At Perry

A third woman in the Herman Cain scandal has emerged, according to the Associated Press.

The news comes on the heels of a Politico story earlier this week alleging that while head of the National Restaurant Association during the 90s, Presidential hopeful Herman Cain faced sexual harassment accusations from two female employees.

The third female employee, the Associated Press reports, did not file a formal complaint against Cain, but claims that the former Godfather’s Pizza CEO acted inappropriately, citing aggressive behavior and an invitation to his apartment.

Cain, a top tier candidate, charged during a tele-townhall Wednesday that Texas Governor Rick Perry’s campaign was the initial source for the Politico story, explaining that Republican strategist Curt Anderson, who once advised Cain, was told about the issue. He then joined the Perry campaign.

Perry’s spokesperson has denied the accusation.

Although Cain maintains that he has never sexually harassed anybody, after initially denying knowing of any settlement payment, acknowledged that at least one accuser was given a full year’s salary as severance pay.

One accuser has signaled to her attorney a willingness to speak out about the matter, according to the Washington Post, but is bound by a non-disclosure agreement. She is currently attempting to waive the contract.

Poll: Obama Leads GOP Field

President Barack Obama leads the GOP’s presidential hopefuls by 5 to 16 percent, according to a new poll from Quinnipiac University.

When paired against Mitt Romney, Obama comes in at 47-42 percent and in a match-up with Herman Cain, Obama leads by 50-40 percent. The President holds a wider margin over both Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich, leading by 52-36 and 52-37 percent respectively.

The survey found that Cain currently tops the GOP field by 30 percent. Romney comes in second with 23 percent and Gingrich takes the third spot at 10 percent. No other candidate comes in with double digits, including Texas Governor Rick Perry, who holds only 8 percent support.

The poll also shows that Obama’s approval rating is up 6 points from last month. On October 5th, Quinnipiac found that Obama’s approval was at 44 percent with 51 percent disapproval. Now, the President comes in with 47 percent approval and 49 percent disapproval.

In addition, the poll holds more good news for Obama, showing that doubts over whether or not the President deserves to be re-elected have dropped. In the new poll, 47 percent said that he does while 49 percent said that he does not. Last month, 54 percent of respondents said the President does not deserve re-election while 42 percent said he does.

The poll was conducted between October 25-31st among 2,294 registered voters.

RNC Begins Election Countdown

The Republican National Committee released a video Tuesday marking what they say will be the final year of the Obama presidency.

“One year from now the American people will hold President Obama accountable for his abysmal record in the White House,” RNC Chair Reince Priebus said in a statement. “We have suffered through three long years of this president’s failed policies and are ready to change direction.”

The video, released online, opens with footage of the President during the 2008 campaign stating “The real question is: will this county be better off four years from now?”

It is then followed by a montage of news footage depicting signs of the weak American economy, from unemployment lines to the Occupy Wall Street movement.

“The Obama experiment has failed,” the ad states. “Let the countdown begin.”

President Barack Obama’s re-election team has also begun to invoke the proximity of the 2012 election. In an email sent to supporters, Jeremy Bird, the campaign’s National Field Director, notes that Democrats will be doing one of two things on November 7^th, 2012.

“We’ll be celebrating the President’s re-election, and our renewed opportunity to keep moving this country forward. Or we’ll be wondering whether we could have done more — reached out and talked to more people, helped register more voters — when we still had time,” Bird states.

Candidates To Converge On Iowa This Friday

A quintet of Republican candidates for president will make remarks later this week at the Ronald Reagan Dinner in Des Moines, IA.

The dinner, tickets to which are available for $75 apiece, is an annual fundraising event hosted by the Iowa Republican Party. As MSNBC reported last week, over 1,000 people attended last year’s dinner to watch Sarah Palin speak.

The first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses will take place just a little over two months from now, on January 3.

The confirmed list of speakers on Friday includes Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), Texas Governor Rick Perry, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.).

Absent from the list is former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who has not run an aggressive campaign in the Hawkeye State.

Businessman Herman Cain, who is in hot water this week over reports that he was accused of sexually harassing two women who worked under him when he was CEO of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990’s, will reportedly attend the event. According to the Iowa GOP, however, Cain has not yet been confirmed to speak.

A poll released last week by the Des Moines Register showed Cain leading the rest of the field at 23 percent. Romney finished a close second, with 22 percent.