Voters apparently just aren't that into Mitt Romney.

A new Pew Research Center poll shows more voters have a negative image of the Republican candidate, with 52% saying they have an unfavorable view of Romney compared with 37% who have a favorable view.

"The poll, conducted prior to Romney's recent overseas trip, represents the sixth consecutive survey over the past nine months in which his image has been in negative territory," Pew says.

By comparison, President Obama is viewed favorably by 50% of registered voters vs. 45% who see him in a negative light.

Romney's favorability ratings stand in contrast to his numbers on tackling key issues. In a recent USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, voters said Romney would do better than Obama in dealing with the economy, budget deficit and taxes.

Although Obama's image is better than Romney's, the poll shows both candidates are among the lowest-rated candidates in recent elections -- with the Republican facing the tougher challenge in winning over voters.

The only presidential candidates to be viewed negatively by more than half of voters going into an election were George H.W. Bush in 1992 and Bob Dole in 1996, Pew says.

Pew also finds Obama with a 10-point lead over Romney in the presidential race. Other national surveys show the battle for the White House to be much closer: Obama leads Romney by an average of 3 percentage points, according to nine recent polls compiled by RealClearPolitics.

The Pew poll of 1,956 registered voters was taken July 16-26. It has a margin of error of +/-3.2 percentage points.

The Pew poll takes into account the views of more Democrats than Republicans, according to the survey's methodology. There were 813 Democratic voters, 459 Republicans and 599 independents surveyed and the sample was weighted.

The Atlantic writes that the "potential for sampling bias means "most people will throw these results out."