Romney, Obama close in Pennsylvania, Ohio

Two, new Quinnipiac University Poll shows Mitt Romney and Barack Obama running nearly even in the two key midwestern states.

PENNSYLVANIA:

General election matchups:

a. Barack Obama 45% Mitt Romney 43%

b. Barack Obama 45% Rick Santorum 42%

c. Barack Obama 46% Rick Perry 40%

Romney leads Obama by 4% and does a better job consolidating Republicans behind him, but thanks to Democrats' superior numbers in the state, Obama just edges him.

There's a significant gender divide between the two. Romney is up by 8% among men; Obama up 9% among women. Union households favor Obama by 9%.

OHIO:

a. Barack Obama 44% Mitt Romney 42%

b. Barack Obama 44% Rick Perry 41%

Independents are split between Romney and Obama, 39%-39%. Romney does a remarkable good job uniting the party, winning Republicans 93%-3%. Obama, on the other hand, only gets 83% of Democrats.

As far as the GOP primary goes in each state, Romney again appears to be blunting Perry's sudden rise.

In Ohio, Romney is the top choice for Republicans over Perry, 24%-20%, while in PA, Romney leads 18%-16%.