Ohio: President Obama leads by 5 in new poll

President Obama remains on in the lead in the all-important bellwether of Ohio, according to the latest round of polls from Quinnipiac University, CBS News and the New York Times released early today.

The polls reflect a late theme in this year’s campaign: even as the race tightens or tilts in Mitt Romney’s favor elsewhere, Ohio remains stubbornly in the president’s column. Wednesday’s poll of the Buckeye State shows Obama earning 50 percent support among likely voters there, while Romney trails with 45 percent — identical to the previous Quinnipiac/CBS/NYT poll of Ohio a little more than a week ago.

As in earlier polls, Obama draws an enormous advantage among women and early voters in Ohio. Women in the state prefer Obama over Romney 56 percent to 39 percent. The president’s lead among Ohio voters who have already cast a ballot is comparably large: 60 percent to 34 percent.

Additionally important for the Obama campaign, Romney’s edge with white voters and independents is markedly smaller in Ohio than in other battlegrounds.

(source)