In its second look at the presidential race in the pivotal battleground state of Ohio this month, a Quinnipiac University poll released early on Thursday confirms that President Obama and Mitt Romney are in a virtual tie in the Buckeye State.
Obama leads Romney in the poll by a single point, 45 percent to 44 percent, well within the poll's margin of error. Twelve percent of voters would vote for another candidate, would not vote at all, or are undecided. In last week's poll, Obama led Romney, 44 percent to 42 percent.
The two candidates run neck-and-neck among independent voters, with Romney capturing 43 percent of that bloc, compared with 39 percent for Obama. Among men, Romney leads Obama, 50 percent to 40 percent. But those results are reversed among female voters, with Obama leading, 49 percent to 38 percent.
Romney leads Obama by 10 percentage points among white voters, 49 percent to 39 percent. He lost that bloc to Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., by 6 points in 2008. Romney leads Obama among white men and white voters without a college degree; the two candidates run roughly even among college whites and white females.
The potential of adding Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, as Romney's running mate does not significantly improve the GOP's chances at the top of the ticket, the poll shows. In a matchup pitting Obama and Vice President Joe Biden against Romney and Portman, each ticket earns 45 percent of the vote.
The latest Quinnipiac poll was conducted May 2-7, surveying 1,069 registered voters. The margin of error is +/- 3 percentage points. The previous poll was conducted April 25-May 1.
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