{mosads}Obama still holds a slight edge in the poll, 46.9 to 45.5, but that’s within the survey’s 2.3 percent margin of error. The poll was conducted by Michigan-based political consultants Foster, McCollum, White & Associates.

It’s the second straight poll to show Obama and Romney in a dead heat in the Wolverine State. Romney held a 1-point advantage in an EPIC-MRA poll released last week.

Obama once had a commanding lead over Romney in Michigan, up by double digits as recently as mid-May, according to the Real Clear Politics average of polls.

Romney’s father, George Romney, was once governor of Michigan, and Romney spent his childhood there. Still, many didn’t believe the former Massachusetts governor would devote significant resources to a state that until recently looked to be out of reach.

Michigan has swung reliably Democratic in recent years. Obama won it by 16 points in 2008, and Romney barely won the state’s Republican primary earlier this year. Romney edged Rick Santorum by 3 percent in the primary, but effectively split the delegate count with him, and at the time, many called it a blown opportunity for the former Pennsylvania senator, who got wrapped up in controversial social issues just prior to the primary.

Michigan is one of 12 swing states that will be critical in determining the outcome of the 2012 election.