A new Quinnipiac University/CBS/New York Times poll shows Barack Obama holding a 50%-45% lead over Mitt Romney in Ohio.
That's bad news for Romney, and looks realistic considering that +8% identify themselves as Democrats, and that's in line with the 2008 turnout numbers (remember, Ohio doesn't have party registration so self-ID is particularly important).
Some key stats:
a. Obama's approval rating hits the magic 50% and stands at 50%/47%.
b. Romney's favorable rating is, once again, underwater in this poll and sits at 46%/48%, while Obama's stands at +8%.
That's a healthy 10% difference in Obama's favor.
c. Obama's empathy score is a net 42 percentage points higher than Romney's -- a massive gap that shows just how successful Obama's legendary attack campaign on Romney's personal character was over summer.
d. Obama's honesty rating is a net 17 percentage points higher than Romney's.
e. Romney's leadership rating is a net 14 percentage points higher than Obama's.
f. Obama holds an edge on the economy (+1%), healthcare (+9%), the middle class (+12%), Medicare (+11%), taxes (+5%), foreign policy (+9%), social issues (+21%), education (+27%), and terrorism (+9%).
g. Romney only leads on the budget (+15%) and working with the other party (+1%).
OVERALL: This is yet another poll showing how very tough the state remains for Romney.
According to Real Clear Politics, Romney has led in four Ohio polls during October, while Obama has led in twenty.
As Dave Weigel noted today:
Ohio is where Mittmentum goes to curl up and die. It was true two weeks ago. It was a true one week ago. It's true now
[Photo: White House/Pete Souza]
