Monday, May 28, 2012

American veterans seem to be largely in Mitt Romney's camp. That's the indication from a new Gallup poll.

Fifty-eight percent of the veterans who were surveyed say they are backing Romney, while 34 percent support President Barack Obama.

Several of the closely-watched states in the November election have large blocs of military voters. Florida is home to several military installations -- and, according to government figures, more than 1.6 million veterans. Pennsylvania has nearly a million veterans, while Virginia and North Carolina each have about 800,000.

Exit polls in 2008 found that Obama was supported by about 44 percent of voters who said they served in the military, while 65 percent voted for John McCain -- a former Navy pilot and POW.

According to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report in march, 12.1 percent of U.S. Armed Forces veterans who served on active duty after 9/11 were unemployed last year. The unemployment rate for all
veterans was 8.3 percent.