Poll: Obama now leading Romney in Arizona

A second straight poll is showing a tight race between President Obama and Mitt Romney in Arizona, further underscoring the possibility that the state — long considered safe Republican territory — could be up for grabs in November.

Obama won the support of 42 percent of registered voters versus 40 percent who say they will vote for Romney, according to a Rocky Mountain Poll released Wednesday. That's the inverse of a Merrill/Morrison Institute poll earlier this week that had Romney up by two points; both surveys are well within their respective margins of error.

Arizona is one of the few places Obama can play offense after his commanding victory in 2008, and the president has already indicated that targeting Latino voters and the southwest will play a major part in his campaign strategy.

Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz attributed Obama's strong showing to Republican support for the state's controversial immigration law.

"Arizona is beginning to get very close to being in play, if not already in play. And that's particularly because Mitt Romney is — has the most extreme position on immigration of any presidential candidate in history," Wasserman Schultz  (D-Fla.) said on CNN.

"There is a backlash that's starting to show in Arizona, and we're organizing there, making sure that we reach out to the Latino community, to the grass roots, to women, to the middle class and working families who understand that President Obama's been fighting for them."

Last week, Vice President Biden said his ticket had "a real shot of winning" Arizona while campaigning in the state.

A Public Policy Polling survey also released Wednesday showed nearly six in 10 Hispanic voters in the state said Romney's support for the law made them less likely to vote for him. According to the Rocky Mountain poll, Obama holds a 39 percentage point lead with Hispanic voters and a 16-point lead with independents.

But Republicans continue to express confidence in their ability to hold the state.

“The Obama team is setting up a mirage that somehow Arizona is going to be an Obama state or in play,” Repunlican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said in a conference call with reporters last week. “It’s a Republican state, it’s a red state. We’re going to be there, obviously it’s not going to be ignored at all, but to put it in the category of a targeted or battleground state is a mindset that we’re not adhering to right now.”

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