Poll of battleground states finds dead heat

A new poll of 12 battleground states shows President Obama and Mitt Romney in a dead heat, with each candidate garnering 46 percent of the vote.

The survey, released by NPR on Thursday, showed voters in the states that will likely decide November's contest discouraged about the direction of the country but generally split on who would best address the issues facing it.

Asked if the nation was on the right track, only 31 percent of battleground voters were optimistic about the direction of the United States, versus 65 percent who thought it was headed down the wrong track. And there was little optimism that a solution would come from the legislature, with 76 percent of voters disapproving of Congress, versus 18 percent who approved of the way the House and Senate are handling their jobs.

But battleground voters were evenly split on President Obama, with a statically even 48 percent approving of how he handles his job and 49 percent disapproving.

And the survey found that a majority of voters (52 percent) do not support the president's signature healthcare law, while nearly as many disapprove of the Supreme Court's decision to uphold that legislation. In battleground states, a full 50 percent say the "law was a bad idea from the start, and it's still a bad idea," and a plurality agree that the law should be repealed.

Still, 53 percent say they support Democrats who argue that we shouldn't "go back and refight the same old healthcare political battles."

The survey polled voters in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.

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