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Voter Confidence In Democratic Party Plunging Ahead Of 2012 Ballot

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — More Americans may be losing hope in President Barack Obama and the Democratic party as a whole, according to a study released Friday.

KNX 1070's Brian Ping reports the findings of the latest Gallup Poll may point to changing of the guard in Washington in 2012.

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For the second consecutive year, Americans think Republicans would do a better job of getting the U.S. economy back on track than Democrats — a sentiment that may spell political doom for the party that controls both the White House and the Senate.

"Democrats actually won on that in 2002, 2005, all through the Bush administration," said Gallup editor-in-chief Frank Newport.

Republicans now hold a nine-point edge over Democrats on overall performance, Newport said.

While the GOP has traditionally been the more trusted party on national security matters, they also hold a seven-point edge over their counterparts when it comes to fixing the economy, which pollsters say is the nation's most important problem.

Newport doubted President Obama and his fellow Democrats will see a bump even with reports on Friday of the killing of al-Qaida leader Anwar al-Awlaki.

"Keep in mind these most recent data showing the Republicans hold a better position internationally come after the announcement earlier this year that Obama gave the order to take out Osama bin Laden, so I'm not sure this will have any impact," he said.

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