President Barack Obama's lead over Republican challenger Mitt Romney in swing state Ohio has dwindled to just 1 point - 45 percent to 44 percent, a statistical dead heat - according to the very latest from NewsmaxZogby Swing State Tracking Polls.
The poll, the second in a series of three, shows Romney gaining solid momentum from his debate boost effectively erasing Obama's lead. The online survey of 848 likely voters was conducted from Monday Oct. 8 through Wednesday Oct. 10. The previous polling was conducted from Sunday Oct. 7 through Tuesday Oct. 9.
Romney holds a strong lead over Obama with men in the latest data: 47 percent to 40 percent when likely voters were asked who they would vote for if the election were held today, versus 46 to 43 percent in the previous data.
Romney surged among independent voters. A full 35 percent said they'd vote for him if the election were held today over 31 percent in the previous polling. Obama fell out of favor among independents in the most recent data - 41 percent versus 42 percent from the previous survey.
There was a slight uptick in those who strongly disapproved of the president's performance this time: 38 percent versus 37 percent in the latest survey. Obama held fast at 19 percent for those who strongly approved of his performance.
When asked if Obama deserves to be re-elected, 42 percent of likely voters said he did, down from 43 percent previously, while 47 percent said it was time for someone else to run the White House, up from 45 percent who felt that way previously.
The key battleground state, which had been moving steadily toward Obama's corner, is now up for grabs, said pollster John Zogby. "To think that 10 days ago Ohio was 'leaning Democrat.' Romney could pull ahead - there's enough of a trend."
Republicans are seeing the trend as well, and are rallying around their candidate: Romney's lead over Obama among Republicans widened 88 percent to 6 percent, up from 85 percent to 9 percent from the previous survey.
The joint venture between Newsmax and New York-based pollster Zogby will feature three-day Swing State Tracking Polls in Ohio, Florida, and Virginia, and a national poll leading right up to Election Day.
The NewsmaxZogby polls use information based on census data, voter registration figures, CIA fact books, and exit polls to best represent the demographics of the population being surveyed. The margin of error for the Ohio poll is 3.4 percentage points.
Poll Methodology
