A new Washington Post poll shows President Obama opening up an eight-point lead over Mitt Romney in Ohio, at the same time holding a four-point advantage in Florida.
The poll of likely voters in two crucial battleground states shows Obama ahead in Ohio, 52 percent to 44 percent. In Florida Obama is ahead, 51 percent to 47 percent.
The new poll numbers come after a tough few weeks for Romney, but it also shows that Obama benefited from the Democratic National Convention, according to The Post.
In Ohio, Obama’s lead comes in part from respondents who gave the president good marks for job performance. Overall, 56 percent approved of Obama’s performance. Some 57 percent of respondents said that Obama better understands the economic problems people are facing, compared with 34 percent who said Romney does. Roughly 50 percent said that they trust Obama to deal with the economy, contrasted with 43 percent who say they trust Romney.
Still, most Ohioans see the state’s economy as in bad shape. Only 38 percent rated the economy “good.”
The news is better for Romney in Florida, according to The Post. There, both Romney and Obama are roughly even on the question of who is more trusted to handle the economy. Still, by 60 percent to 35 percent, respondents said that they trust Obama over Romney to “advance the interests of the middle class.”
The Romney-Ryan campaign is focusing heavily on Ohio this week, and the Obama campaign has countered with a new ad that hits the former Massachusetts governor on his “47 percent” comments.
Both polls were conducted from Sept. 19 through Sept. 23, with 769 likely voters polled in Florida and 759 polled in Ohio. The margins of error for each poll was plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
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