Almost 60 percent of Americans say personal finances key in presidential election

The majority of Americans say their personal financial situation is a key factor in who they will vote for in the presidential election, according to a survey released today by Bankrate.com.

Approximately 47 percent of those surveyed said their personal financial situation is one of several important factors while 12 percent said it is the single most important factoring deciding whom to vote for in November. The last president who was reelected with an unemployment rate of 7.2 percent or higher was Franklin Roosevelt in 1940, according to Bankrate.com. The unemployment rate is at 8.2 percent.

Americans are evenly divided between the two candidates, as 21 percent believe Mitt Romney would improve their personal financial situation and another 21 percent believe President Barack Obama would do so, according to the survey.

"How Americans feel about the U.S. economy and their own finances will be central to the election on Nov. 6," Claes Bell of Bankrate.com said in a statement. "While unemployment will probably be above that 7.2 percent historical benchmark when the election takes place, the key question will be whether Americans are comfortable with the progress that has been made since the economy took a turn for the worse."

Princeton Survey Research Associates International conducted the survey. Telephone interviews were conducted from June 7-10, questioning 1,000 adults in the continental U.S.

EMAIL: bbullock@desnews.com