Ohio: Obama 49%, Romney 49%

With four days to go, President Obama and Mitt Romney are tied in the critical battleground state of Ohio.   

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Ohio Voters finds Obama and Romney each with 49% support.  Two percent (2%) prefer some other candidate, while one percent (1%) is undecided.  (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Ohio remains one of eight Toss-Up states in the Rasmussen Reports Electoral College Projections. Obama won the Buckeye State in 2008 by a 52% to 47% margin.

At the beginning of the week, Romney held a slight 50% to 48% advantage. It was the first time Romney has taken even a modest lead in the race of Ohio's 18 Electoral College votes since late May, but the two candidates have been within two percentage points of one another since then.

Forty percent (40%) of Ohio voters say they have already cast their ballots, and among these voters, the president has a comfortable 56% to 41% lead. 

Both candidates earn better than 90% support from voters in their respective parties. The president is ahead 50% to 41% among voters not affiliated with either major political party. 

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The survey of 750 Likely Voters in Ohio was conducted on November 1, 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.

Voters in Ohio trust Romney more by six points - 50% to 44% - when it comes to handling the economy and by five - 50% to 45% - in the area of job creation. The challenger also has a three-point edge on energy policy, while the president has a two-point trust advantage in the areas of national security and housing policy.

Twenty-two percent (22%) rate the U.S. economy as good or excellent, but 42% give the economy a poor rating.  Forty-five percent (45%) describe their personal finances as good or excellent, while 13% say their finances are poor.

Fifty-three percent (53%) of Ohio voters have at least a somewhat favorable impression of Romney, while 47% view him unfavorably.  That includes 40% with a Very Favorable opinion and 35% with a Very Unfavorable one.

Half (50%) of voters in the state have a favorable opinion of Obama, but just as many (49%) have an unfavorable view. This includes Very Favorables of 37% and Very Unfavorables of 41%. 

Fifty-two percent (52%) of Ohio voters at least somewhat approve of the job Obama is doing as president, while 48% disapprove.  That includes Strong Approval from 33% and Strong Disapproval from 42%.

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In addition to Ohio, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, Virginia and Wisconsin are Toss-Ups. Romney is ahead in Arizona, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina 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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