Poll: Obama within 1 point in crucial battleground Florida

President Obama trails Mitt Romney by a single point in the crucial battleground state of Florida, according to a poll released Friday, an encouraging sign for the president, who could effectively stop Romney's bid for the White House with a win in the Sunshine State.

Romney holds a 49-48 percent advantage among likely voters in the state, according to the CNN survey, released Friday afternoon. The president actually holds a significant advantage among all registered voters, leading the Republican ticket 50 to 43 percent when not screened for those most likely to head to the polls.

Still, Obama faces an uphill task in converting voters there before Election Day. Of likely voters, nine in 10 say they have already made up their mind. While 8 percent say they remain open to persuasion, late-deciding voters typically break away from an incumbent.

The addition of Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson to the list of candidates does not do anything to help the president, who still trails Romney 48-47 percent in a survey including third-party candidates.

Romney seems to have closed the gender gap in the state as well, with the president holding only a 2-point lead among women in the state — well within the 5 percent margin of error. Similarly, Romney seems unscathed by Democratic attacks on his Medicare plan, continuing to lead Obama 56 to 43 percent among voters over 50 years old — a crucial demographic in the Sunshine State.

Ironically, independents in Florida seem evenly split between the candidates, with each candidate garnering 46 percent of those surveyed who declined to affiliate with a party.

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