Obama's Approval Rating Post-Election at 52 Percent; Americans View President, Democratic Party More Favorably

A new report on Friday revealed that American views on President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party have risen significantly since he was re-elected. The poll, which was conducted by USA Today and Gallup, also found that although outlook towards Obama challenger Mitt Romney had risen, views towards the Republican Party remained unchanged.

According to the results, President Obama enjoys a 58 percent favorable rating, which represents his highest rating in three years. An all-time high favorable rating of 78 percent was recorded in January 2009 after his inaugural speech, Gallup said. Obama was also more popular after his first election, Gallup said, "with a 68 percent favorable rating just after the November 2008 election."

The president's party also received a boost among Americans since the election. According to Gallup, Democrats saw a six-point jump from their pre-election favorable rating of 45 percent to their post-election rating of 51 percent. This marks the first time the majority of Americans view the party positively since the summer of 2009, Gallup said.

Obama's challenger, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, also saw a boost to his favorable rating after losing the election on Nov. 6. The results, which are based on a Nov. 9-12 USA Today/Gallup poll, found that Romney jumped from 46 percent before the election to 50 percent after the election. Gallup stated that his current favorable rating "ties with his personal high from May, shortly after he clinched the 2012 Republican presidential nomination."

Unlike the Democratic Party, the Republican Party continues to suffer with low favorable ratings. The party received a slight one-point boost from the election, from 42 percent to 43 percent. According to Gallup, Americans currently hold a 50 percent unfavorable view of the GOP.

Gallup also reported that more than half of Americans, 52 percent, approve of the president's work. Obama's approval rating remained low, at 41 percent, it reported on Friday.

Overall Americans appear to have a more positive outlook towards President Obama and the Democratic Party than they do towards Mitt Romney and the Republican Party. According to Gallup, this presents "a challenge for the party in terms of getting the public to back its priorities and to vote for it in elections, particularly when Americans view the Democratic Party much more positively."