Obama’s lead over Romney in Pa. slips, poll shows

President Barack Obama’s lead in Pennsylvania has slipped a bit, though he still leads GOP rival Mitt Romney, according to the latest Franklin & Marshall College poll.

A June Franklin & Marshall poll showed Obama 12 points ahead of Romney in Pennsylvania. A recent Quinnipiac poll gave Obama an 11-point advantage.

There was talk among pundits that Republicans might concede the Keystone State to Obama and concentrate elsewhere. But the most recent F&M survey shows Obama leading Romney by just six points — 44 to 38 with 15 percent undecided.

Poll director Terry Madonna says the state still “leans Democratic.”

  • WHYY thanks our sponsors — become a WHYY sponsor

“Romney has his work cut out for him, if all things stay the same,” Madonna said. “But a six-point lead is not insurmountable.”

Meanwhile in Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race, incumbent Democrat Bob Casey holds a 35 to 23 percent lead over Republican challenger, Tom Smith. The polls showed nearly four in 10 voters undecided in the Senate race.

Madonna says Casey has consistently led his lesser-known rival.

“It’s certainly not a done deal, there’s still time,” he said. “But overall, when you look at the dynamics of the race and you look at Tom Smith’s voter recognition, it’s an uphill fight. At the moment, (it’s) likely Democratic.”

Smith’s campaign announced yesterday it had bought TV time for ads in the Philadelphia market.

You can see results of the entire poll here.

WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.

Want a digest of WHYY’s programs, events & stories? Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Together we can reach 100% of WHYY’s fiscal year goal