Florida: Romney 51%, Obama 47%

Mitt Romney has crossed the 50% mark for the first time to widen his lead to four points in Florida.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Florida Voters finds Romney with 51% support to President Obama’s 47%. Two percent (2%) remain undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

This is the widest gap between the candidates in surveys this year, but Florida remains a Toss-Up in the Rasmussen Reports Electoral College Projections. Prior to these findings, the candidates have been within two points of each other in Florida in every survey since April. Last week, it was Romney 49%, Obama 47%.

Obama carried Florida over John McCain in 2008 by a 51% to 49% margin.

Ninety-six percent (96%) of likely voters in the Sunshine State say they are certain to vote in this year’s election. Among these voters, it’s Romney 51%, Obama 47%.

Ninety-two percent (92%) of likely Florida voters say they have already made up their minds which candidate they will vote for. Romney leads 52% to 48% among these voters.

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The survey of 750 Likely Voters in Florida was conducted on October 11, 2012 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is  conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Florida voters now trust Romney more than Obama 51% to 45% when it comes to handling the economy. The GOP challenger has a narrower 51% to 47% lead in voter trust in the area of national security. This is comparable to findings among all voters nationally.

Also in line with national findings, 44% in Florida worry that the federal government will do too much in responding to the nation’s current economic problems, while 39% fear the government will not do enough. Given a choice of what the government should do in response to the economy, 69% think it should cut spending, while only 18% call for more government spending.

Twenty-four percent (24%) of Florida voters think the government spends too much on defense, while 33% say it doesn’t spend enough. Thirty-eight percent (38%) feel the current level of defense spending is about right.

A plurality (48%) correctly recognizes that the United States spends more on the military and national security than any other nation in the world. Fourteen percent (14%) don’t think that’s true, while 39% are not sure.

The government jobs report released on Friday in which unemployment fell below 8% for the first time in three-and-a-half-years has not changed economic perceptions in Florida. Just 15% rate the U.S. economy as good or excellent, while 46% think it’s in poor shape. Thirty-seven percent (37%) say the economy is getting better, but 41% believe it is getting worse.

Forty-eight percent (48%) of Florida voters approve of the job the president is doing, with 32% who Strongly Approve. Fifty-two percent (52%) disapprove of his job performance, including 45% who Strongly Disapprove.

Romney is viewed favorably by 53% of voters in the state and unfavorably by 45%. This includes 40% with a Very Favorable opinion of him and 33% with a Very Unfavorable one.

Senior citizens remain strongly supportive of Romney, while younger voters support the president just as strongly. Obama leads 54% to 38% among voters n Florida not affiliated with either of the major political parties.

Along with Florida, Colorado, Missouri, New Hampshire, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin are Toss-Ups.  Romney leads in Arizona, Indiana, Montana and North Dakota. Obama is ahead in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Washington.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

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