Poll: Romney cuts into Obama’s lead in Pennsylvania

Washington, DC, United States (4E) – Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, enjoying a surge in the polls after his impressive performance in the first debate, narrowed the gap between him and President Barack Obama to four per cent among likely voters in Pennsylvania, which was a 12-point gap less than a month ago.

A new poll conducted by Quinnipiac University on Oct. 12-14 of 1,519 likely voters shows that Obama leads Romney, 50 per cent to 46 per cent. The result means a positive sign for the Romney campaign as both are scheduled to meet for their second debate on Tuesday.

The surge in Romney’s rating is in line with a separate Gallup poll covering the period Oct. 9-15 that shows the former Massachusetts governor opening a four-point national lead over the president among likely voters, 50-46. This was Romney’s widest margin throughout the campaign for that survey that has a +/- 2 percentage point margin of error.

Romney also gained in other swing states as shown by the poll results done by CBS News and the New York Times in Colorado and Wisconsin, although not as significant as in Pennsylvania.

Romney’s favorability rating is also up in Pennsylvania at 46 per cent compared to the 41 per cent he garnered in September. Obama, however, still enjoys a better favorability rating at 52 per cent.

Obama remains ahead among likely women voters in Pennsylvania, 57-39, while Romney has the lead among men, 54-43. Obama has a 50-43 edge among voters who described themselves as independent.

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