Mitt Romney, Pew Research Center | featured news

As the income gap between rich and poor widens, a majority of Americans say the growing divide is bad for the country and believe that wealthy people are not paying enough in taxes, according to a new survey. The poll released Monday by the Pew Research Center points to a particular challenge for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, whose party's policies are viewed by a wide majority as favoring the rich over the middle class and poor.

Coverage of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, especially on cable TV and leading news websites, is increasingly driven by the campaigns themselves, resulting in one of the most negative elections this country has seen in decades. That's the conclusion of a new study by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism, which looked at more than 800 news stories produced by top newspapers, websites, and television and radio shows during the general election campaign.

President Obama for the first time has opened a sizable lead over his most likely Republican opponents, thanks to growing support among independent voters, according to a new Pew Research Center poll .