(KMSP) -
President Obama now leads Mitt Romney by at least ten percentage points in the vital state of Ohio, and has inflated his lead in Florida and Pennsylvania.
The new Quinnipiac University/New York Times/CBS News poll results also show the president holding a lead over his Republican challenger on most key issues in the swing states, including health care, the economy, taxes and Medicare.
These polls come just a week ahead of the first Obama-Romney debate, cranking up the pressure on the Romney-Ryan ticket to close the gap and win back votes in the final 40 days.
No Republican has ever won the presidency without winning Ohio.
QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY/NEW YORK TIMES/CBS POLL
Sept. 18 to Sept. 24
Florida
Obama: 53 percent
Romney: 44 percent
Ohio
Obama: 53 percent
Romney: 43 percent
Pennsylvania
Obama: 54 percent
Romney: 42 percent
The polls also show more people view President Obama favorably than unfavorably – the opposite is true for Mitt Romney. Those swing state voters are also struggling to relate to the Republican nominee, with most of those polled saying Romney doesn't care about the needs and problems of people like them.
THE ISSUES
Question: Who do you think would do a better job on the issue below, Barack Obama or Mitt Romney?
Economy
Florida: Obama 51%, Romney 46%
Ohio: Obama 51%, Romney 45%
Pennsylvania: Obama 51%, Romney 45%
Health care
Florida: Obama 54%, Romney 41%
Ohio: Obama 54%, Romney 40%
Pennsylvania: Obama 54%, Romney 41%
National security
Florida: Obama 52%, Romney 44%
Ohio: Obama 53%, Romney 41%
Pennsylvania: Obama 55%, Romney 40%
Medicare
Florida: Obama 55%, Romney 40%
Ohio: Obama 55%, Romney 39%
Pennsylvania: Obama 55%, Romney 39%
Taxes
Florida: Obama 52%, Romney 43%
Ohio: Obama 53%, Romney 43%
Pennsylvania: Obama 53%, Romney 42%
See more specific poll results and the results of other key issues at http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/09/26/us/politics/20120926-poll.html?ref=politics
