President Barack Obama holds a 3-point lead over Mitt Romney in Ohio, and an even larger edge among the state’s independents, a new poll released Tuesday shows.
The latest release from Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling (PPP) shows Obama leading Romney among likely Ohio voters, 48 percent to 45 percent — virtually unchanged from PPP’s previous survey of Ohio in late June. Obama is also holding his lead among Ohio women, while receiving a significant bump among independents in the state. The president and Romney were locked at 42 percent among independents in June; Obama has now opened up a 10-point lead with independent Ohio voters, 49 percent to 39 percent.
Both candidates have seen an improvement in their standing over the summer. The president’s approval rating in Ohio ticked up 2 points since PPP’s previous poll, to 46 percent. His disapproval rating of 51 percent is unchanged since June. Romney’s favorability rating went up even more, from 35 percent in June to 41 percent in Tuesday’s poll. Fifty-two percent of Buckeye State voters have an unfavorable view of the presumptive Republican nominee.
Ohio voters are divided when it comes to Romney’s running mate — at least those who know him. Thirty-four percent say they have a favorable view of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI); 33 percent have an unfavorable view. But almost as many — 33 percent — say they are unsure of what to think about Ryan, who officially joined the Republican ticket on Saturday.
The PollTracker Average shows Ohio leaning toward Obama, 47.5 percent to 43.7 percent.
PPP conducted its survey August 9-12 using automated telephone interviews with 961 likely Ohio voters. The margin of error is 3.2 percent.
