Poll: Obama leads Romney 51-41

WASHINGTON, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama leads presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney 51-41, a poll by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press indicated.

The poll -- taken prior to Romney's overseas trip last week, and released Thursday -- found 52 percent of those surveyed said they have a favorable view of Obama, while 37 percent said they view Romney favorably, Pew said in a release.

It is the sixth consecutive Pew survey conducted during the past nine months in which Romney's image has been in negative territory, Pew said. Obama's personal ratings are lower than those of most presidential candidates in recent elections.

Obama has led Romney by anywhere from 4 percentage points to 12 percentage points in Pew polls conducted this year.

The lead for Obama is just 4 percentage points -- 48 percent to 44 percent -- in 12 states identified as battleground states in the November election, Pew said.

Romney leads Obama among white voters while Obama leads among women and minority voters. Romney leads 45 percent to 43 percent among voters who describe themselves as independents.

The survey, conducted July 16-26 among 2,508 adults, including 1,956 registered voters, was conducted in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The margin of sampling error varies from state to state, Pew said.