Obama leads in Ohio, Nevada, New Jersey and Wisconsin

A couple polls over the last couple days shows Obama up in some key states, although some are going to be a little disconcerting to the President. A new WeAskAmerica poll shows Obama up by a whopping 8 points against Romney in Ohio. This poll is great news for the President who has been neck and neck with Romney in Ohio over the last few months. However this poll seems to be an outlier in the other Ohio polls, so it will be interesting to see over the next week if this is just an outlier or a trend in Ohio.

A new Rasmussen poll out of the state of Wisconsin is not quite as good for President Obama. The poll shows Romney trailing Obama by just 3 points. A few months ago Wisconsin was not even considered a swing state, but this poll along with others over the past month shows Obama will have to spend time and money in the Badger State to fend of Governor Romney. Even if Romney isn't ultimately victorious in Wisconsin, forcing Obama to play defense in the state means that time and resources will be taken away from other swing states.

Rasmussen also shows Obama up 5 in the key state of Nevada. This polling is in line with the most recent polls that shows Obama up by 4, 6 and 6. This state is a swing state but clearly favors the President at the moment.

The last and most surprising poll shows Obama's lead in New Jersey shrinking drastically. New Jersey was supposed to be a blowout with Obama up 23 points just 2 short months ago, but a new Monmouth University shows Obama's lead down to just 8 points. With the popularity of Chris Christie in the perennially blue state of New Jersey, Romney has got to think he at least have an outside shot at New Jersey. However, if Romney makes New Jersey competitive, he may have already won nearby states like Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Wisconsin: Rasmussen Reports Obama 49, Romney 46

Ohio: WeAskAmerica* Obama 48, Romney 40

Nevada: Rasmussen Reports Obama 50, Romney 45

New Jersey: Monmouth University Obama 50, Romney 42

Mandel closing the gap on Brown in Ohio

In possibly the most surprising poll in the last few weeks, a new Rasmussen poll shows Republican Josh Mandel down just 4 points to heavy favorite Sherrod Brown in Ohio. This result is absolutely shocking considering the last poll done in this race last month showed Brown up by 16 points. Mandel has been criticized as being young, inexperience and not ready for the big leagues. He is viewed as a rising star because of his fundraising abilities, but the thoughts in both parties was that he would not have a chance against Brown.

Sherrod Brown suddenly has a fight on his hands and with just over 3 months until the election there is plenty of time for Brown to pass him. Expect big names to come into Ohio for both candidates as this could be one of the most closely watched Senate battles in the country.

I am interested to see what this means for the Presidential race, as Mandel has consistently been polling short of Romney in Ohio. The question is whether Mandel's rise has come because of name recognition or because of a shift in the Independents and moderate Democrats.

Romney Gaining Ground in Swing States, Obama Dominating in New York

New Polls Indicate that Mitt Romney is Closing the gap in New Hampshire and Iowa. Romney finds himself down 5 points in Iowa and 4 points in New Hampshire, Romney has gained 5 points in both polls from a month ago. Iowa and New Hampshire are both smaller battleground states that appeared to be an uphill climb for Romney, but these polling numbers show that they are still in play. It appears that the Bain attacks have not phased Romney as much in these two states as they have in other battleground states like Ohio and Pennsylvania.

A new poll from Siena shows Obama up a whopping 27 points on Romney in the state of New York. No one ever considered New York to be in play, but a 27 point lead is much higher than anyone would have thought. Despite his low approval ratings Obama appears to be just as strong in the Northeast as ever, with commanding leads in Massachusetts and New Jersey as well.

Another interesting tidbit came out of the state of New York as well today, with CNN and ESPN columnist LZ Granderson suggesting that Romney pick New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg as his running mate. While I don't particularly like Bloomberg, the analysis is interesting and well put together, and I agree that it would make him stronger in November. You can read the full article here,

Here are the full polling results

New Hampshire: Romney vs.Obama WMUR/UNH Obama 49, Romney 45

Iowa: Romney vs. Obama PPP (D) Obama 48, Romney 43

New York: Romney vs. Obama Siena Obama 61, Romney 34

New Poll Shows Tight Race in Battleground States

Purple Strategies released 4 polls today in key battleground states that showed positive results for both candidates. Romney has got to feel really good about his standing in both Florida and Colorado. Romney leads Obama in Florida 48-45 and only trails Obama in the key state of Colorado by 1 point. Most recent polling has had Romney trailing slightly in Florida but by more in Colorado. Romney will definitely need Florida to get the 270 votes needed for victory and adding Colorado in would also be huge.

Obama finds himself up 48 to 45 on Romney in Ohio and 46 to 44 in Virginia. Obama continues to lead Ohio and has to feel very good about that. All the experts I've talked to have said that Romney would need to take Ohio to win the election so Obama has to feel good about his standing there. The Virginia news is also very positive for Obama in a state that has showed the candidates going back and forth with the lead. Overall this polling is a push, but in case anyone was wondering, it is going to be a very tight election. Here are the numbers

Ohio: Romney vs. Obama Purple Strategies Obama 48, Romney 45

Florida: Romney vs. Obama Purple Strategies Obama 45, Romney 48

Virginia: Romney vs. Obama Purple Strategies Obama 46, Romney 44

Colorado: Romney vs. Obama Purple Strategies Obama 45, Romney 44

To see the questions and methodology, click here http://www.purplestrategies.com/wp-content/uploads/7.2012-Purple-Poll.pdf

Welcome to my Blog

Hey everyone, my name is Mark Cunningham and this is my blog about politics. I have been a campaign manager for two political campaigns and a political analyst. Here is my blog about politics where I will analyze polls and news in the 2012 Campaign. I will analyze news about the Presidential, Senate and some House Races. In full disclosure I am a Republican and Romney supporter. Some of my posts will be opinion while others will just be analyzing news as a nonpartisan. I hope you enjoy the blog!