Obama in Trouble in Florida, According to Poll

A Suffolk University/7NEWS (WSVN-Miami) poll of registered voters in Florida released late Tuesday found President Barack Obama is in trouble in the Sunshine State.In a speech to the Florida Democratic Convention at Walt Disney World on Friday, Vice President Joe Biden said winning Florida is crucial to the president staying in the White House.

The poll found that Obama is upside down in Florida, with 50 percent disapproving of his performance in the White House while 41 percent approve of it. An overwhelming majority of the Floridians surveyed -- 66 percent -- thought the nation was headed in the wrong direction.

Obama is in for a tough fight against two of the leading Republican presidential hopefuls. He ties Mitt Romney with 42 percentand edges Herman Cain 42 percent to 39 percent. Obama does better against some of the other candidates, beating Newt Gingrich by 7 percent and crushing Rick Perry and Ron Paul by 12 points each in the Sunshine State.

The poll did find that possible vice presidential candidates could prove decisive in Florida. Republicans did better when Floridas junior senator, Marco Rubio, was added to the ticket. Obama did better when Biden was replaced by Hillary Clinton as the presidents running mate.

Among Republican primary voters, Romney edges Cain to lead the GOP field in Florida, 25 percent to 24 percent. Gingrich stands in third with 11 percent. Perry is in fourth with 9 percent followed by Paul with 5 percent and Jon Huntsman with 2 percent. Michele Bachmann, Gary Johnson and Rick Santorum take 1 percent apiece.

The poll of 800 registered voters was taken Oct. 26-30 and had a margin of error of +/- 3.5 percent.