Poll: Romney makes gains in Wisconsin, Obama still slightly ahead
(CNN) - A new poll released Wednesday indicates Mitt Romney is gaining ground in Wisconsin, where the race is now tied up between the GOP presidential nominee and President Barack Obama.
Forty-nine percent of likely voters say they support the president, while 48% choose Romney, according to the Marquette University Law School poll, which was was conducted entirely before the second presidential debate Tuesday night.
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The one-point margin falls well within the poll's sampling error and essentially wipes out a wider advantage Obama held over Romney in previous months.
Last week, a CBS/New York Times/Quinnipiac poll of Wisconsin likely voters showed Obama was ahead of Romney, 50% to 47%. And a separate Marquette poll conducted late last month indicated the president was up by 11 points in Wisconsin.
CNN rates the state, which has 10 electoral votes, as a "toss-up" on its Electoral Map. Obama carried Wisconsin by 14% against Sen. John McCain in 2008.
The state also marks the home of Romney's running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan. The GOP vice presidential nominee made a stop in Wisconsin on Monday.
"In Wisconsin we have shown that if leaders step up and lead we as voters have their backs. We haven't dedicated our electoral votes since 1984 to the Republican nominee. It is time we change that," Ryan said. "We are on a winning streak here in Wisconsin. Let's keep that winning streak going."
Romney's momentum in the state falls in line with gains made in other battlegrounds after his widely-acclaimed performance in his first showdown against Obama on October 3.
In the coming days, more polls will roll out measuring support following the second presidential debate, which was widely considered more of a draw than the first match-up. According to a CNN/ORC International Poll released late Tuesday night, 46% of debate watchers considered Obama the winner of the second debate, while 39% said Romney fared better. However, the GOP nominee came out on top among likely voters when they were asked who did better talking about the issues.
The new Marquette poll also shows a tightening Senate race between former Gov. Tommy Thompson, the GOP nominee, and Rep. Tammy Baldwin, the Democratic nominee. According to the survey, Thompson has 46% compared to Baldwin at 45%.
For the survey, 870 likely voters were interviewed by telephone between October 11 and October 14. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.
- CNN's Shawna Shepherd and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
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The people of Wisconsin have first hand experience with how sound Republican financial management can turn a state around. Hopefully They vote for Romney/Ryan so we can also get it at the federal level. No more Obamas or Democrats bankrupting America.
Show us your tax returns for the last 20 years Willard!!
Don't believe this. Romney will win Wisconsin by a large margin. Why would a state that has seen such improvment in its economy under a Republican governor who had to be elected TWICE, elect a big government Democrat who has proven he can't improve the economy.
Stop with the lies already, Who in their right minds would vote for this joke of a candidate, a mist of all his lies and used car salesman crap . . . must be the right wing-nut conservative dinggleberries choice.
Thank God there are still a majority of Americans who can see through the Obama B.S..
Romney / Ryan 2012
Tagg Romney under investigation for Insider trading. Tagg is Mitt Romney's oldest son and founder of Solamere Capital.
Is this true or false ?
WI, this idiot is a total nonsense. Bain-Capital tells all. Yes, on OBAMA12.
people in wisconsin can't be that stupid to vote for robot romney and lying ryan. Get real these are working class people not rich repos.
Not sure I would trust any of these polls. I received a phone call last night from a fellow claiming to be from the RNC and stated they were contacting women to learn their opinions about abortion. When I stated I was pro-choice, he hung up me. Apparently, when the RNC receives an answer that they don't like, they don't bother with the rest of their survey and just keep going until they find someone who agrees with them.
Before the second debate and President Obama was still ahead?
Darn those women, middle class, hispanics, veterans, 47%, 99%, African-Americans, immigrants, students, retirees who depend on medicare, and especially poor people!
only Wisconsin when you have Paul Ryan Soup Kitchen Photo Op washing pots that have all ready clean for politico points then there is a problem with the voters there.
What a bunch of baloney these presidential debates.... The fact that they influence voters indicates how shallow voters are and the meager effort many people put into choosing who to vote for.. If the "he said, she said" influences your vote, then stay home on election day. If any US voters do not know where these two men stand on the issues by now then you need to do some research. You have to consider the full package being offered,..and not some rediculous sound byte, that the media plays constantly. That being said,..i believe Obama has more to offer, to the majority of Americans,..he's more genuine, trustworthy, and better detailed policies.
Ryan in the Soup Kitchen. He is giving you a picture of what the next 4 years will look like if Obama is Re-Elected.
Forget it, Obama and Biden will carry this state. After the second debate, the real Romney showed up.
He insulted women and lied to the American people. I am glad that he was fact checked by the moderator.
Obama / Biden 2012
Where are the tightie righties screaming about "biased polls" now?
This could be a landslide for Romney if this momentum keeps building. As Romney said when talking about the Omamaeconomy: "It doesn't have to be like this"
Romney will not win Wisconsin. His momentum stopped Tuesday night. Romney won the first debate because he looked good while saying nothing. Romney lost the second debate because he looked bad while saying too much. Romney may not understand why his words ("binders full of women," "if you're going to have women in the workforce that sometimes you need to be more flexible") sent the wrong message to women, but that only shows how out of touch he is.
The pollsters will be stunned after the election. I really don't think the race is that close. Counting only likely voters skews the race towards Romney. Believe me, there are a lot of first time voters and voters who do not fall ionto the"likely" category.
ALC
I have been an independent voter all my life,but the Republican Party has been taken over by the holy rollers, the radicals, and the power hungry and crooked leaders, and now I find it hard to condone their platform.
Give it up CNN. Obama is toast nationwide. America has seen him for who he truly is.
truth hurts
The people of Wisconsin have first hand experience with how sound Republican financial management can turn a state around. Hopefully They vote for Romney/Ryan so we can also get it at the federal level. No more Obamas or Democrats bankrupting America.
October 17, 2012 02:37 pm at 2:37 pm
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Very funny - Wisconsin's rate of job creation has been below the national average ever since Gov. Scott Walker's austerity budget went into effect. Check the BLS. The results have been so embarrassing that Walker has now removed his campaign promise to create 250,000 new jobs in his first term from his website - he'll be lucky to hit 100,000. And no surprise there - what business would want to invest in a state that refuses to invest in itself? Business people aren't stupid; besides, they want good education for their kids too, not closed schools, broke community colleges and a university that pays more attention to pinching pennies than educating future leaders.
Want to see what America would look like under a Romney administration? Check out the massive failure happening in Wisconsin now.
@Bristar,
Ok I wanna see on the ticket Election night after Obama wins. Since you said he's toast. Silly little idiot.
How does likely voter even matter at this point. Its 20 days left until the election. These polls are not counting new registered voters, young voters. Same crap the media pull 4 yrs ago, saying Mccain was leading a few battle ground states. What was the outcome, OBAMA won big. So keep it up, right wingers, keep bragging like the election is already over. Come election night ya'll gonna mad as hell.
Alvin
This could be a landslide for Romney if this momentum keeps building. As Romney said when talking about the Omamaeconomy: "It doesn't have to be like this"
October 17, 2012 03:29 pm at 3:29 pm
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To which I always add: "It can be even worse." And don't kid yourself it won't be if America, foolishly, elects an unprincipled empty-suit fool like Romney. President Bush was our warning - next time is our own darn fault.
President Hollywood even had the help of Crowley during the debate and still was able to only pull off a tie. Maybe Wisconsin is beginning to recognize the man is an absolute zero.