The Hill News

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) remains unpopular with the general public and could face obstacles from voters in her own party should she seek the Republican nomination for president in 2012, a poll released Tuesday shows.

Sixty-four percent of the public says they would not vote for Palin if she decides to run. And among those who lean Republican, 41 percent say they would definitely not vote for her, up from 36 percent in December 2010, according to a Washington Post/ABC News poll.

{mosads}In addition, 63 percent says she is unqualified to serve as president and in a hypothetical general election match up, President Obama leads Palin 55-40 percent among registered voters, his highest margin among six candidates polled. 

The poll is the first national survey to tes! t Palin -- the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee -- since she embarked on an East Coast bus tour on May 29, a move that provoked speculation she could jump into the GOP field.

With the renwed belief that Palin could run, she has jumped to second in the GOP primary field. She trails the front-runner, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R), 21-17 percent, up from her 5 percent support in April.

The poll suggests that Palin's entry into the race could set up a two-way primary between Romney and her with the rest of the field fighting for scraps; none of the other 10 candidates or potential candidates polled received double-digit support.

Other metrics indicate that despite her second-place standing, she could have a tough time winning the nomination if she runs.

Thirty-eight percent of those who lean Republican say they definitely would not vote for her for the GOP nomination, the highest out of a dozen candidates and potential candidates surveyed. 

While 24 percent of "leaned Republicans" say they would strongly consider voting for Palin for the nomi! nation, equal to Romney's support, only 18 percent say they would definitely not vote to give Romney the nomination.

The poll is based on telephone interviews with 1,002 adults nationwide between June 2-5. The full sample has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.