The 2012 election is shaping up to be more polarized along racial lines than any presidential contest since 1988, with President Obama lagging behind Republican Mitt Romney among white voters by 21 percentage points, a steep drop in support from four years ago.
As he did in 2008, Obama gets overwhelming support from non-whites, who made up a record high proportion of the overall electorate four years ago. …
But among whites, Obama is currently doing much worse than he did in 2008. [cont.]
Scott Clement & Jon Cohen, Washington Post