Rasmussen Reports releases two new surveys showing Paul Ryan cracking the key mark in both Ohio and across the nation.
In Ohio, 51% of likely voters look on him favorably, while just 39% look on him unfavorably. That's a healthy +12% gap.
Meanwhile, nationally, 50% of likely voters have a positive opinion, while only 32% have an unfavorable opinion of him for an even more salubrious +18% gap.
So is there any practical import to the favorable numbers? Rasmussen suggests there is.
36% now say they are more likely to vote for Romney with Ryan as his running mate. Twenty-nine percent (29%) say they are less likely to vote for the Republican, while just as many (30%) say the vice presidential selection has no impact on their vote.
Two comments on this:
a. Considering the novelty and energy of a new Veep pick, it's not surprising that he's gotten a bump, but keep in mind that nearly every report of his selection has included some sort of divisive word like "partisan, "polarizing", or "hard right wing." So it's not as if voters are unclear about his ideology.
b. There's one more reason the positive/negative gap will probably narrow in the future. This is a deeply divided country where it's a rare national politician who can patch together +50% ratings (it's much easier and more common at the the local level).
Thus, it's too much to assume that Ryan can consistently break +50%. After all, neither nominee has even been able to do it, as of late.
