Miami – Poll Shows Romney Edging Obama In Key Swing State Florida

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    (Photo credit: AP)Miami – Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has moved into a lead over President Barack Obama in the crucial swing state of Florida, a new poll shows.

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    Romney, the presumptive Republican nominee, was preferred by 47 percent to Obama’s 41 percent among a random telephone survey of 1,722 registered Florida voters conducted between May 15 and May 21 by the Quinnipiac University (Conn.) Polling Institute. The margin of error in the newest sampling of current voter preferences was put at plus or minus 2.4 percentage points.

    The two men were virtually deadlocked in a similar Quinnipiac survey conducted in the last week of April. Obama led Romney by 7 percentage points among Florida voters in late March.

    “The overall picture in Florida is favorable for Romney,” pollster Peter Brown said.

    The one-time governor and former investment firm manager was seen favorably by 45 percent of Florida voters compared to a 35 percent unfavorable, while Obama also had a 45 percent favorable, but a 50 percent unfavorable despite a 76 percent likeability response. Romney enjoyed broad support among men and older voters while the president had strong backing among minorities and younger voters. Women voters in Florida were split almost evenly.

    Fifty-two percent said they do not approve of Obama’s handling of the presidency and that he does not deserve a second term while 50 percent said they believed Romney would do a better job managing the economy, which is presently seen as the pivotal issue in the 2012 race.

    The survey released early Wednesday indicated that having U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Miami on the GOP ticket with Romney would have a slight effect among Florida voter. Romney led Obama 49 percent to 41 percent with Rubio as his running mate.

    The candidates’ opposing views on same sex marriage was a factor with one-third of the respondents and 22 percent identified the issue as “extremely important.” By better than a two-to-one margin those who found the issue important said it would make them less likely to vote for Obama, who supports same-sex marriages. Romney is opposed to same-sex marriage.

    “While the issue of same-sex marriage looks like it affects only one-third of Florida voters, we know from experience what a few votes can mean in the Sunshine State,” Brown said.

    Republican George W. Bush was elected president in 2000 on the strength of a 537-vote advantage in Florida over Democrat Al Gore.

    No candidate has won the presidency since John F. Kennedy in 1960 without carrying two of the nation’s three key swing states _ Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Obama won all three in his 2008 victory over Republican nominee John McCain, winning Florida by nearly a quarter million votes. The nation’s fourth largest state, Florida, provides 29 of the required 270 electoral votes needed to win.


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    9 Comments
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    iamoverhere
    iamoverhere
    11 years ago

    i dont believe it, with the way this disaster of a community agitator has been destroying the country, romney’s lead in the poll should be a lot more

    LouKay
    LouKay
    11 years ago

    writes the headlines? 6 points ahead in a swing state, this early the process, against a sitting President is Not just “edeges” is a big lead !

    11 years ago

    Focusing on cherry-picked state polls more than five months before an election is foolish. There are a number of other Florida polls which show Obama ahead in that state.

    Either way, Romney is not a candidate that inspires or excites and he has an uphill battle to fight. Not only will he have to hold on to all of the McCain states, he will also have to win Florida, N. Carolina, Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, and a smaller state like New Hampshire, Iowa, or Nevada. Based on Real Clear Politics aggregate of polling in those states, Romney is ahead in only Florida and N. Carolina, so he’s got his work cut out for him.