Poll: Obama leads Romney in Fla., Ohio

President Obama is leading GOP challenger Mitt Romney in Florida by two percentage points and has a six-point advantage in Ohio, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News/Marist poll.

The poll gives Obama a 49-to-47-percent edge among likely voters in Florida, a battleground prize for the two candidates.

Romney still leads in a RealClearPolitics (RCP) average of Florida polls, 49 to 48 percent. Winning Florida is essential for Romney’s chances, as he doesn’t have a realistic path in the Electoral College without the Sunshine State.

Obama, Romney and his running mate, Paul Ryan, will all be making stops in Florida in the final days of the campaign.

In Ohio, the Wall Street Journal poll found Obama had a 51-to-45-percent lead, the same as its October survey.

Obama’s lead in the RCP polling average is narrower in Ohio at 3 points, 49 to 46 percent, but Obama has led in nearly every Ohio poll in the past week.

Ohio has become the most-contested swing state, and Romney would have a difficult path reaching 270 electoral votes if he does not win the state.

Obama, Romney, Ryan and Vice President Biden are all attending rallies in Ohio this weekend.

The Florida poll of 1,545 likely voters, conducted between Oct. 30 and Nov. 1, had a 2.5-percent margin of error. The Ohio survey of 971 likely voters was held between Oct. 31 and Nov. 1  and has a 3.1-percent margin of error.

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