Mitt Romney Catches Up to Obama in Q-Poll of Florida

A poll released by Quinnipiac University on Thursday shows that its close in Florida between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, the heavy favorite to win the Republican presidential nomination.

The new Q-Poll has Romney taking 44 percent while Obama follows with 43 percent. A similar poll from Quinnipiac, released at the end of March, showed Obama with a solid lead over Romney in Florida, taking 49 percent while the former Massachusetts governor trailed with 42 percent.

Quinnipiac also released polls showing Obama with a narrow lead in Ohio, which is considered a swing state come November, and a solid lead over Romney in Pennsylvania where he beats him by 8 percent.

"Governor Mitt Romney has closed President Barack Obama's leads in Ohio and Florida to the point that those two states are now essentially tied, a turnaround from the end of March when the president enjoyed leads in those key states," said Peter Brown, the assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "The good news for the president is that he has an 8-point lead in Pennsylvania, approaching the 11-point margin he had in carrying the Keystone State in 2008. Overall, Obama is doing slightly better than Romney in these critical swing states today."

The poll of 1,169 Florida voters was taken from April 25 through May 1 and had a margin of error of +/- 2.9 percent.