However, voters in swing states who support Romney for president are more likely than those backing Obama to say they feel “extremely enthusiastic” about voting — 31% to 23%. The same pattern is seen by party, with 32% of Republicans in the swing states and 25% of Democrats reporting extreme enthusiasm. However, these candidate- and party-level differences disappear when one looks at total enthusiasm, defined as those either extremely or very enthusiastic.

The findings contrast with the May USA Today/Gallup Swing States poll, in which supporters of Obama and Romney expressed equal levels of extreme enthusiasm, while Obama led Romney in their respective supporters’ overall enthusiasm.

Nationally, Romney and Obama voters report similar levels of both extreme and overall enthusiasm, as do national Republicans and Democrats. Thus, to the extent extreme enthusiasm proves to be a benefit to Romney in terms of voter turnout this fall, it is currently a factor only in the swing states, not nationally.