By Adam C. Smith, Times Political Editor
Posted: Oct 11, 2012 06:00 PM
Barack Obama's lackluster debate performance last week has dramatically
altered the presidential race in Florida, with Mitt Romney opening up a
decisive 7 percentage point lead, according to a new Tampa Bay Times/Bay News 9/Miami Herald poll.
Barack Obama's lackluster debate performance last week has
dramatically altered the presidential race in Florida, with Mitt Romney
opening up a decisive 7 percentage point lead, according to a new Tampa Bay Times/Bay News 9/Miami Herald poll.
The
survey conducted this week found 51 percent of likely Florida voters
supporting Romney, 44 percent backing Obama and 4 percent undecided.
That's a major shift from a month ago when the same poll showed Obama
leading 48 percent to 47 percent — and a direct result of what Obama
himself called a "bad night" at the first debate.
The debate
prompted 5 percent of previously undecided voters and 2 percent of Obama
backers to move to Romney. Another 2 percent of Obama supporters said
they are now undecided because of the debate.
"There's no question in my mind that debate made people stand up and
pay attention, and it really wiped away any questions people had about
Romney, whether they were undecided or soft for Obama," said Brad Coker
of Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, which conducted the poll for the Times and its media partners.
Across
the board, from who is better suited to improve the economy, to who
will protect Medicare, to looking out for the middle-class, to handling
foreign policy, likely Florida voters now favor the former Massachusetts
governor over the president. (Continues)
No comments:
Post a Comment