President Barack Obama arrives at a town hall meeting on health care in a Kroger supermarket in Bristol, Va., Wednesday, July 29, 2009. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Approval of Obama has slipped below 50 percent for the first time among some groups, according to the Gallup survey conducted July 26-28.
One of those groups is married people, with only 48 percent of married people supporting Obama, down six percentage points from the previous week. Before this week, a majority of married people had supported the president, with the previous three weeks’ showing 54, 52, and 54 percent approval respectively.
Another group is people ages 18 to 29, among whom support for Obama fell five points in a week, declining from 71 to 66 percent. Over the past month, support for Obama among young people has declined by seven points, down from 73 percent.
Women also support Obama less today than they have in the past. His support among women declined three points from last week to 58 percent and five points over the past month--down from 63 percent.
Obama’s approval rating among America’s more educated citizens also fell, with support among all college graduates falling from 60 to 58 percent over the past week. Support for Obama among those without college degrees fell more steeply, from 59 percent to 55 percent.
The president’s support among Whites and Hispanics also declined, with only 48 percent of white Americans approving of the president’s performance--that marks the first time in July that a majority of white Americans did not support the president.
While his approval rating is still high among Hispanics, Obama’s rating there also fell despite progress on the Supreme Court-nomination of Sonia Sotomayor. Gallup showed support for Obama among Hispanics fell seven points, from 79 to 72 percent.
The only ethnic category that did not see a decline in approval for the president was black Americans, where Obama received a 95-percent approval rating, up one point from last week.
Surprisingly, Obama lost support from people of all political affiliations, including members of his own party. In fact, support for Obama fell more sharply among independents and Democrats than among Republicans.
His support among Democrats fell four points in a week, from 92 to 88 percent. Among independents, support fell five points from 56 percent to 51 percent. Among Republicans, his support fell only two points from 23 to 21 percent.
According to Gallup, Obama also lost support along ideological lines with liberals and moderates leading the way. Support among liberals fell three points from 89 to 86 percent while among moderates it fell five points from 70 to 65 percent. Conservatives’ approval of Obama fell only three points, from 34 percent to 31 percent.