Poll: Obama Faces Uphill Battle in Swing States

Is it time for the White House to worry?

A new USA Today/Gallup poll finds that President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney are statistically tied among registered voters nationally and in 12 key swing states. Forty-seven percent of registered voters across the country said they would vote for Obama if he faced Romney in the general election, compared to 47 percent of respondents who said they would vote for Romney. Forty-seven percent of registered voters in so-called swing states—including Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin, said they would support Romney in general election, compared to 46 percent who said they would vote for Obama.

Obama appears slightly more competitive against other Republican presidential candidates. Forty-nine percent of voters in swing states said they would vote for Obama in the general election, compared with 44 percent who said they would vote for Perry if he were to become the Republican nominee. Forty-eight percent of swing state voters said they would vote for Obama, versus 45 percent who said they would back Cain if Republicans were to nominate him.

Obama’s job approval rating is 44 percent, while 49 percent of Americans said they disapprove of the president. The White House clearly has some work to do among recession weary Americans before Nov. 6, 2012.