A new poll released by Quinnipiac University, in conjunction with the New York Times and CBS News, revealed that President Obama leads Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney by several points in three key swing states. The poll found that Obama leads Romney 53 percent to 44 percent in Florida and 53 percent to 43 percent in Ohio, two states that could seal the president's reelection.
The poll, which was released on Wednesday, also shows a 12-point lead for Obama in Pennsylvania. According to USA Today, Pennsylvania has voted Democrat in the past five last presidential elections.
According to the poll, "Voters in each state see President Obama as better than Gov. Romney to handle the economy, health care, Medicare, national security, an international crisis and immigration. Romney ties or inches ahead of the president on handling the budget deficit."
No candidate has managed to win the White House since 1960 without winning in at least two of these states, the poll noted.
Peter A. Brown, the assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said, "Gov. Mitt Romney had a bad week in the media and it shows in these key swing states. The furor over his 47 percent remark almost certainly is a major factor in the roughly double-digit leads President Barack Obama has in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The debates may be Romney's best chance to reverse the trend in his favor."
The assistant director added, "The wide difference between the two candidates is not just a result of Romney's bad week. In Ohio and Florida votes are basically split down the middle on whether the county and they and their families are worse or better off than they were four years ago. If voters don't think they are worse off, it is difficult to see them throwing out an incumbent whose personal ratings with voters remains quite high."
The economy was found to be the most important issue among voters in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, with health care trailing closely behind, the poll found.
Forty-seven percent of Florida voters listed the economy has their most important issue, while 20 percent listed health care. In Ohio, 49 percent of voters listed the economy as their top priority and 21 percent listed health care. Similarly, 48 percent of Pennsylvania voters marked the economy as the top issue and 20 percent listed health care.
On Monday, a Gallup poll released showed that voters in 12 key swing states placed a higher trust in Obama (50 percent) over Romney (44 percent) in addressing the issue concerning Medicare. Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania were included in the Gallup poll, as well as Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Virginia and Wisconsin.
However, the poll released on Wednesday did find that voters placed higher trust in Romney in who would do a better job on the budget deficit. Romney lead Obama 48-46 percent in Florida, 49-45 percent in Ohio and 48-45 percent in Pennsylvania when the budget deficit was discussed.
Those poll statistic are among the few positive numbers the Romney campaign has seen in the past few days as key swing states are seen slipping from his grasp.