Quinnipiac University released polls of three crucial battleground states on Wednesday -- Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania -- showing President Barack Obama leading Mitt Romney by single digits, and the Democrat incumbent scoring points in the Sunshine State with his new immigration policy.
The polls show Florida to be the closest state, with Obama taking 45 percent and Romney right behind with 41 percent. Obama also gets 45 percent in Ohio while 39 percent back Romney. In Ohio, Obama takes 47 percent with Romney trailing with 38 percent.
"President Barack Obama has decent margins over (former Massachusetts) Governor Mitt Romney in Ohio and Pennsylvania and a smaller advantage in Florida, said Peter Brown, the assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. If he can keep those leads in all three of these key swing states through Election Day, he would be virtually assured of re-election. Of course, the election is more than four months away, which is a lifetime in politics."
Brown added that the polls show that Obama has won points for his recent focus on immigration and that he is doing better in voters minds on the economy.
"Voters in all three states voice strong support for the president's mini 'Dream Act' immigration order, and they say the president would be better than Romney handling immigration, Brown said. "For much of the last year, more voters in these swing states have said Romney would do a better job on the economy. That advantage has largely disappeared, at least for now."
Still, the president garners mixed marks in the Sunshine State with 47 percent approving his performance in the White House while 49 percent do not. While 46 percent think Obama deserves another term in office, 47 percent say he does not. Florida voters divide evenly when asked if they see Obama in a favorable light with 47 percent saying they do while the same percentage view him unfavorably.
The poll shows Romney is upside down in the Sunshine State with 37 percent viewing him with favor and 42 percent see him unfavorably.
More voters believe Romney would do a better job of managing the economy with 46 percent thinking the Republican would handle it better while 44 percent think Obama could do a better job.
Obama gets points in Florida for his recent decision on immigration, with a majority --58 percent --saying they back it while 33 percent oppose it. While 40 percent say Romney would do a better job on immigration, 46 percent think Obama would.
The poll shows Obamas new immigration policy has apparently helped him with Hispanic voters in Florida.
"In Florida, on the heels of the president's order that will prevent the deportation of some younger illegal immigrants, he holds a big lead among Hispanic voters, Brown said.
A poll taken by Quinnipiac earlier in the month showed 49 percent of Hispanics backing Obama while 39 percent supported Romney. The new poll finds a majority of Florida Hispanics, 56 percent, behind Obama while 32 percent back Romney.
Romney is beating Obama with white voters, taking 50 percent while the Democrat incumbent has the support of 35 percent. Black voters in Florida are overwhelmingly behind Obama, with 85 percent of them backing the president and only 6 percent supporting Romney.
The poll shows Obama leading with both sexes. Obama has the support of 47 percent of the women surveyed and 43 percent of the men. Romney gets the backing of 42 percent of the men and 40 percent of the women.
Both candidates have their bases behind them with 81 percent of Democrats behind Obama and 86 percent of Republicans supporting Romney. Obama leads with independents, taking 44 percent of them while Romney has the backing of 37 percent of them.
The polls of 1,200 Florida voters, 1,237 Ohio voters and 1,252 Pennsylvania voters were taken from June 19-25 and had margins of error of +/- 2.8 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
