Poll finds Romney with 7-point lead over Obama in Florida

Mitt Romney holds a commanding lead over President Obama in Florida, according to a new poll.

The Mason Dixon poll sponsored by the Tampa Bay Times/Bay News 9/Miami Herald, released Thursday, found Romney leading Obama 51 percent to 44 percent among likely Florida voters. Four percent of those surveyed said they were undecided. The poll's findings, a week after Obama and Romney squared off in the first of three presidential debates, are a dramatic change from about a month ago when the poll found Obama ahead of Romney, 48 percent to 47 percent.

In terms of favorability, Romney is viewed favorably by 50 percent of those surveyed while 38 percent have an unfavorable view of him. Meanwhile 45 percent said they have a favorable view of Obama while 49 percent said they have an unfavorable view. 

Notably, Romney has a slight lead among Hispanic voters, a voting bloc the Obama campaign expects to win handily. The poll found Romney with 46 percent support of Hispanics and Obama with 44 percent.

The poll was released a few hours before the first vice presidential debate. Mason Dixon found 39 percent of Floridians had a favorable view of Vice President Biden while 46 percent had an unfavorable view. Paul Ryan, Biden's counterpart on the GOP ticket, had much better numbers. Forty-eight percent of those surveyed said they had a favorable view of Ryan while 35 percent said they have an unfavorable view.

The poll's findings are the latest in a series of polls, both statewide and on the national level, that have found a shift away from Obama and toward Romney since their first debate in Denver.

The poll was conducted among 800 likely voters from Oct. 8-10. The poll had a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.

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