The first in a series of NewsmaxZogby Swing State Tracking Polls shows President Barack Obama leading Republican challenger Mitt Romney in the battleground state Ohio by a margin of 46 percent to 42 percent.
But the survey also discloses that there's no clear sailing for Obama in the Buckeye State - more Ohio voters disapprove of Obama's job as president than approve, and more say it is time for someone new in the White House than think Obama deserves to be re-elected.
The online survey of 842 likely voters was conducted from Sunday Oct. 7 through Tuesday Oct. 9. The joint venture between Newsmax and New York State-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 are highly accurate, using 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.
A victory in Ohio would be a giant step for Romney's effort to win in the Electoral College, and the race in the state has been tightening up, the NewsmaxZogby poll reveals.
"Some polls showed the president running away with Ohio before the first debate," said pollster John Zogby.
"Ohio's 18 electoral votes are up for grabs. More than one in four independents are still undecided and both candidates are still underperforming among key parts of their base."
The NewsmaxZogby poll shows that while Obama leads Romney by four percentage points, 12 percent of respondents are still undecided.
Union households give the president a strong endorsement.
Obama leads Romney among independents, 42 percent to 31 percent, with a substantial 27 percent undecided.
Obama also leads among voters who consider themselves moderates, 57 percent to 29 percent, women (48 percent to 39 percent), and non-white voters (78 percent to 17 percent).
But Romney is ahead among men by a margin of 46 percent to 43 percent. He also leads among voters over age 65 (62 percent to 31 percent), white voters (49 percent to 37 percent), evangelicals (57 percent to 33 percent), investors (54 percent to 39 percent), and married voters (50 percent to 39 percent).
The GOP nominee leads among voters with a college degree, 45 percent to 43 percent, and among respondents who live in suburban or rural areas, while Obama leads among respondents who have a union member in their household, 51 percent to 36 percent.
Only 19 percent of respondents say they "strongly approve" of Obama's job performance, and 28 percent "somewhat approve," for a total of 47 percent approval. But 37 percent say they "strongly disapprove," and 13 percent "somewhat disapprove," for a total of 50 percent.
Even though more voters in Ohio favor Obama over Romney, 45 percent of respondents say it is "time for someone new" in the White House, compared to 43 percent who think Obama "deserves to be elected."
When Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson is added to the mix, he gets 3 percent of the vote, and the undecided vote drops to 6 percent.
The NewsmaxZogby Swing State Tracking Poll also discloses that the race for the Senate seat in Ohio between Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown and Republican challenger Josh Mandel is extremely close. Brown receives 38 percent of the vote to Mandel's 37 percent, with 8 percent opting for independent candidate Scott Rupert and the rest still not sure.
Mandel polls strongest among respondents who are "sympathetic to the tea party," garnering 75 percent of their vote.
The congressional races in Ohio are also extremely close, with 41 percent of voters saying they will vote for a Democratic candidate for the House and 40 percent saying they will vote for a Republican.
The NewsmaxZogby Swing State Ohio survey will feature new results on Thursday and Friday.
Poll Methodology