It’s a tight presidential race in the Sunshine State – but one candidate is inching ahead.
New poll numbers out Thursday evening show President Barack Obama up in Florida and two other critical states over his Republican opponent, Mitt Romney.
The new NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist Poll shows Obama leads Romney in Florida 49 percent to 44 percent.
The president enjoys the same 5-point lead in Virginia. And in battleground Ohio, Obama is up by seven points, with 50 percent to 43 percent for Romney, the former Massachusetts governor. His leads are outside the margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent.
Obama’s polling edge in Florida is motivation for workers inside the call room at the Romney field office in Fort Lauderdale, where Stan Spatz is a volunteer.
“I'm not looking for somebody I want to have a beer with, not that Romney isn't a great guy, I think he probably is. I'm looking for somebody with the experience, with the ability, with the resolve and with the ideology, the philosophy, that this country was built on,” Spatz said.
Complete Decision 2012 Coverage
Local
Obama volunteers inside Grace Lee's Miramar home weren't so focused on the poll numbers Thursday night – they were too busy making phone calls.
Lee said she supports the president because of healthcare reform.
“Before now the insurance that I had, they had a cap on my care and because of my pre-existing condition there were certain things they would not cover. So with this new health care law I don't have a problem,” she said.
The NBC News poll is its first since the political conventions. In Tampa the GOP highlighted what they say is wrong with America, while in Charlotte Democrats preached the opposite, saying the country is moving forward.
Voters will decide whether to give Obama a second term or to move Romney into the White House in just under two months.
The latest poll also covered the race for Florida’s U.S. Senate seat. There, Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson holds a sizable lead over Connie Mack IV, 51 percent to 37 percent.
