Poll: Obama leads in Fla., Pa., Ohio

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HAMDEN, Conn., June 27 (UPI) -- With the U.S. presidential election just over four months away, President Obama leads Mitt Romney in three key states, a poll released Wednesday said.

The Quinnipiac University Polling Institute said 45 percent of the voters in Florida would vote for Obama while 41 percent would go for his likely Republican challenger. The president's margins are bigger in Ohio, where he leads 47 to 38 percent, and Pennsylvania, where he is ahead 45 to 39 percent.

A similar poll released May 3 showed Obama leading by 8 percentage points in Pennsylvania with the other two states too close to call.

"The president's overall margin is built on his big lead among women, younger voters and African-Americans. In Florida, on the heels of the president's order that will prevent the deportation of some younger illegal immigrants, he holds a big lead among Hispanic voters," said Peter A. Brown, the institute' assistant director. "The horse race numbers reflect the general view of voters that they like the president better. Obama has a net favorable view among Ohio voters and he is viewed evenly by those in Pennsylvania and Florida, while Romney's favorable/unfavorable ratio is negative in all three states."

The poll was conducted between June 19 and June 25. The sample sizes were 1,200 in Florida, 1,237 in Ohio and 1,252 in Pennsylvania, with the margin of error 2.8 percentage points in all three states.