(CBS4)
According to a new poll by Research 2000, less than half of Republicans surveyed believe that President Barack Obama was born in the United States. The new poll comes as a fringe element of the Republican Party tries to gain a foothold in the party by saying Obama is not a U.S. citizen.
28 percent of the Republicans surveyed said they did not believe President Obama was a natural born citizen, a requirement in the U.S. Constitution for any person seeking to become President. 30 percent of Republicans said they were not sure and 42 percent said they thought he is a natural born citizen.
President Obama has released a certificate of live birth from the state of Hawaii with the state seal visible on the document. There are also newspaper reports from the time of his birth in Hawaii that said Obama's parents welcomed a baby boy into their family on the day Obama was born.
In recent days, multiple conservative media personalities continued to fuel fires that Obama was unconstitutionally holding office. However, some top conservative hosts including Ann Coulter and Fox News' Bill O'Reilly have sought to quell the notion Obama isn't a citizen because of a political fear the party will be identified with the fringe elements trying to drive the argument.
