Poll: Many Obama 2008 Supporters Are Defecting to GOP

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's winning coalition from 2008 has crumbled and his core backers are dispirited. It's now Republicans who stand to benefit from an electorate that's again craving change.

Nearly two years after putting Obama in the White House, one-quarter of those who voted for the Democrat are defecting to the GOP or considering voting against the party in power this fall. An Associated Press-Knowledge Networks poll released two weeks before Obama's first midterm elections found that just half of them say they definitely will show up Nov. 2.

In a reflection of broad dissatisfaction with politics, just as many people who backed Republican presidential nominee John McCain are either supporting Democrats now or still considering how to vote. McCain voters are far more motivated to vote, however.