GOP pollster: Romney up in Ohio, closing the gap in Wisconsin

Mitt Romney has the lead in Ohio and trails narrowly in Wisconsin, according to a new poll for the Republican group Citizens United.

Romney leads Obama by 49 to 46 percent in Ohio, according to the poll, and trails Obama in Wisconsin by 49 to 47 percent, according to polling first obtained by The Hill.

Partisan polls should be viewed with some skepticism, and both polls put Romney in a better position than most publicly available data has shown. Obama has a small but steady lead in most Ohio polls, and a slightly wider lead in Wisconsin.

The polls also show Senate GOP candidates in better shape in the two states than recent public polling has suggested. Ohio state Treasurer Josh Mandel (R) leads Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) by 50 to 45 percent in the poll, and former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson (R) edges Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) by 47 to 45 percent. Recent public polling has shown Brown with a comfortable lead and Baldwin holding a narrow lead over Thompson.

Republicans have long argued that their polling shows Romney and other Republicans in a better position than nonpartisan public polls suggest. Only Election Day can prove whether or not they're correct.

The polls were conducted by Republican pollster Wenzel Strategies from Oct. 30-31. The Wisconsin poll of 1,074 likely voters has a margin of error of 3 percentage points, while the Ohio poll of 1,281 voters has a margin of error of 2.7 percentage points.

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