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Economic concerns are on the minds of voters as Mitt Romney has ticked ahead of President Barack Obama in a new poll for the first time since becoming the Republican nominee even in the face of months of negative advertising and attacks by Obama, the New York Times reported.

The New York Times/CBS News Poll showed that opinions about how Obama is handling the economy have shifted since April, with 39 percent saying they approved and 55 percent saying they disapproved. In April, 44 percent approved and 48 percent disapproved.

Republicans have been concerned with how Romney has handled questions about his tenure at equity firm Bain Capital and his tax returns but those worries seem to be unfounded as 45 percent of those polled say they would pull the lever for Romney if the election was today versus 43 percent for Obama.

When undecided voters are included, Romney is preferred by 47 percent to Obama’s 46 percent, according to the poll, which was conducted between July 11 and 16 and including 982 registered voters.

Another shift was found in how Americans think Obama is handling his job, the Times reported. Now, more Americans disapprove, with 46 percent saying they don’t like the job Obama’s doing to 44 percent who approve.

When it comes to tax cuts, 49 percent agree with Obama that the Bush-era tax cuts should continue on adjusted gross annual income of $250,000 and less, with more than a quarter saying the cuts should stay in place for all income groups, according to the Times.

But when asked which candidate would do a better job handling the economy and unemployment, 49 percent went with Romney to Obama’s 41 percent, the Times reported.


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