Presidential Polls 2012: Obama Leads in Swing State Ohio; Florida Race Deadlocked
The weekend before Election Day, a new presidential poll shows President Barack Obama leading in the swing state of Ohio by six points. His edge over Mitt Romney is much smaller in Florida.
According to NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist polls, Obama has 51 percent of the support among likely voters in Ohio against Romney's 45 percent. The race is tighter in Florida with 49 percent favoring Obama and 47 percent favoring Romney.
The Ohio survey was conducted on Wednesday and Thursday among 971 likely voters, with a margin of error of +/-3.1 points. The Florida one was conducted Tuesday through Thursday among 1,545 likely voters, with a margin of error of +/-2.5 points.
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Ohio is a major battleground state with 18 electoral votes. Voters there have been inundated with hundreds of political ads, especially in the final week before the Nov. 6 election. According to the National Journal, Obama for America, Obama's official campaign committee, spent a total of $72.7 million on ads in Ohio alone. Romney's official campaign spent $43.1 million. Additional ads worth tens of millions of dollars were also launched by super PACs and other groups.
Based upon recent polls, there's a possibility Obama may win reelection with a majority of the votes in the Electoral College but without the popular vote.
Florida is viewed as a must-win state for Romney with 29 electoral votes. The NBC News/WSJ/Marist polls may show the former Massachusetts governor slightly behind Obama there, but a Mason Dixon Poll shows Romney leading with 51 percent support over Obama's 45 percent.
More Floridians say Romney would be better at handling the economy but they favor Obama on the foreign policy front. In Ohio, voters say Obama is the better candidate when it comes to handling the economy.
Among those surveyed for the NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist polls, in Ohio, 38 percent of likely voters identified themselves as Democrats, 29 percent as Republicans, and 33 percent as independent or other; in Florida, 37 percent identified themselves as Democrats, 35 percent as Republicans, and 28 percent as independent or other.
