Poll: Obama leads by 5 points in Wisconsin

President Obama leads Mitt Romney by 50 to 45 percent in Wisconsin, according to a new poll from Marquette University's law school.

Those numbers are almost identical to Obama's 51 to 45 percent edge in a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday morning, and similar to the last Marquette poll, which had Obama leading Romney by 51 to 43 percent a month ago. 

Pollster Charles Franklin described the presidential race as "one of the most static races in recent history," with almost no movement for either candidate.

Obama has held a consistent lead in polling of the state, with nearly every poll this summer showing him leading Romney by between five and eight points.

The state's Senate race is much closer, however. If former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson wins the GOP nomination, he leads Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) by 48 to 43 percent, while Baldwin and former Rep. Mark Neumann (R-Wis.) would tie at 44 percent apiece and Baldwin would lead businessman Eric Hovde by 44 to 41 percent.

The poll showed Thompson maintaining a narrow lead over his opponents heading into the final week of the campaign, pulling 28 percent to 20 for Hovde, 18 for Neumann and 13 for Wisconsin state Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald (D). That's a slight dip for Thompson compared to where he was a month ago in the university's poll, though still a good spot to be in if he can hold on in the race.

The general election poll of 1,188 likely voters and primary poll of 519 likely voters was conducted from August 2-5, and the primary poll had a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.

---