Poll: Obama and Romney neck-and-neck in swing states

President Obama and Mitt Romney are running neck-and-neck in 12 swing states that will be critical in determining the outcome of the 2012 election, according to a Purple Insights poll released on Monday.

Obama won Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin in 2008, and will need to win about half of these in 2012 to secure reelection.

According to Purple, Obama leads Romney 47 to 45 percent in these 12 states, maintaining the same 2-point lead he had in the same poll from June, when he led 48 to 46. The poll has a 1.6 percent margin of error.

Romney has been dogged by low favorability ratings throughout the election cycle, and that trend continues, according to the Purple Poll, with 49 percent saying they have an unfavorable view of the former Massachusetts governor, versus 41 percent favorable.

But there’s bad news for Obama in the swing states as well – 42 percent said the economy was getting worse, against only 28 percent who said it was getting better.

Obama and Romney each took one of the two big swing-state prizes.

Obama has regained the lead in Ohio, 48 to 45 percent, after Romney led in the Buckeye State by 3 points last month. Obama leads Romney by 7 points among independents in Ohio, which is surprising, as nationally independents have been leaning towards Romney.

Romney leads Obama by 3 in Florida, where he holds a 10-point advantage among independents.

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