Obama leads Romney by 5 points in Ohio, up 4 in Virginia

http://thehill.com

President Obama is ahead in the two crucial swing-states of Ohio and Virginia, according to a survey from Public Policy Polling (PPP).

PPP’s final polls in the state find Obama up 52 to 47 over GOP nominee Mitt Romney in Ohio and with a 51 to 47 edge in Virginia. In Ohio, Obama enjoys a strong early voting advantage, with 60 percent of those who have cast their ballots already to 39 for Romney. Romney leads 51 to 48 among those who will vote on election day.Obama also wins women in Ohio by 54 to 44 percent and has strong support among voters under 30 at 61-33. Romney is ahead with Buckeye state independents at 49-47. The president enjoys similarly strong support among female voters in Virginia at 56-43. Dean Debnam, president of PPP dubbed Obama “the favorite in Ohio and Virginia.” “We have found him leading those states in poll after poll during the closing stretch,” he said in a statement announcing the poll’s findings. Ohio is crucial to Mitt Romney’s electoral hopes, as no Republican has ever won the presidency without capturing the state. The GOP nominee’s path to victory would narrow considerably if he failed to take Ohio. Other polls have suggested that a tighter race, with a Columbus Dispatch poll released Sunday showing Obama up 2 points at 50-48. While conservative-leaning Rasmussen puts the two candidates in a 49-49 tie in the state, an NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll gives Obama a wide 51-45 lead. Both candidates have pressed hard to win Ohio’s voters and will both campaign there on Monday, one day ahead of election day. Polls in Virginia have also given Obama a slight lead in the run up to Tuesday’s vote, with a WeAskAmerica poll putting him up 1 point at 49-48 and a CBS/New York Times/Quinnipiac poll giving him a 49-47 lead on Romney. The PPP polls were conducted on Nov. 3 to 4 and have a 3-point margin of error.