President Barack Obama leads Mitt Romney in two states that represent perhaps the biggest electoral prizes, according to a pair of new polls released early Saturday morning.
The latest polls from NBC News, Marist College and the Wall Street Journal show Obama holding a comfortable 6-point advantage in Ohio and a slimmer 2-point edge in Florida.
Obama continues to look like the favorite to bag Ohio’s coveted 18 electoral votes, earning the support of 51 percent of likely Buckeye State voters to Romney’s 45 percent. Meanwhile, the president claims the support of of 49 percent of likely Florida voters, while the Republican nominee trails with 47 percent support.
The president’s margins in each state largely comport with the results of the previous NBC/Marist/WSJ polls of Ohio and Florida a month ago. In early-October, Obama also led Romney in Ohio 51 percent to 45 percent, while the president’s lead in Florida has ticked up a point since last month.
The latest NBC/Marist/WSJ polls were conducted Oct. 31-Nov. 1 using live phone interviews with 971 likely Ohio voters and 1,545 likely Florida voters. Ohio’s sample has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, while Florida’s sample has a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points.
The PollTracker Average shows Obama moving ahead by 2.5 points in Ohio, as Romney continues to hold a lead of a little more than a point in Florida. Ohio is currently marked in the “lean Obama” category on the TPM Electoral Scoreboard, while Florida is designated as a toss-up state.
