PPP poll finds Romney widening lead against Obama among likely voters

Mitt Romney leads President Obama nationally among likely voters, according to a new poll.

The Public Policy Polling survey commissioned by the liberal DailyKos website found Obama trailing Romney among likely voters 46 percent to 50 percent.

The findings are in contrast to a survey PPP did for DailyKos a week earlier, which found Obama trailing Romney by 2 percentage points, 49 percent to 47 percent.

On favorability, PPP found a majority of likely voters — 51 percent — have an unfavorable view of Obama, while 46 percent have a favorable view.

The poll also found similar numbers on Obama's performance as president. Fifty-three percent said they have an unfavorable view of Obama's performance, while 44 percent they have an favorable view.

By contrast, 49 percent said they have a favorable view of Romney, and 45 percent said they have an unfavorable view.

The poll's findings came Tuesday, the day of the second presidential debate between Romney and Obama. After a lackluster performance by Obama during the first debate, national polls began to move in Romney's direction, with a number of surveys showing Romney leading Obama among likely voters and key voting groups. Obama is hoping to to reverse that momentum at the second debate. The Obama campaign has also said that the president would be more energetic during the second debate.

The poll was conducted Oct. 12 to Oct. 14 among 1,600 likely voters and had a margin of error of  2.5 percentage points.

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