Polls Show Split Opinion On Romney's Business Record

By Josh Kraushaar // January 31, 2012 | 7:32 a.m.

President Obama's re-election team has been focused on Mitt Romney's record at Bain Capital as a major part of its offensive against the former Massachusetts governor, hoping to portray him as a heartless capitalist who laid off workers while restructuring companies

Two new polls conducted over the last week -- one nationally and one in Florida -- raise questions on the potency of that message. A new ABC News/Washington Post poll, released today, finds that a narrow 40 percent plurality view Romney's work "buying and restructuring companies" unfavorably, with 35 percent viewing it favorably. Among independents, it's a near-even split: 35 percent view Romney's work at Bain favorably, while 36 percent view it unfavorably.

In the battleground state of Florida, a Mason-Dixon poll conducted for the Tampa Times and Miami Herald, showed favorable results for Romney. Nearly half (46 percent) of Florida voters viewed Romney's business background positively, while just 30 percent negatively. This is despite lots of scrutiny in the news media about Romney's record at Bain over the last several weeks.