Barack Obama,  Mitt Romney,  Polling,  President 2012

President 2012 Florida Poll Watch: Romney 46% Vs. Obama 42%

Electoral College vote map of Larry Sabato

According to the lastest Sunshine State News poll.

A lackluster economy in Florida has helped put President Obama’s job approval rating under water in the key swing state, a new poll shows. And in a head-to-head matchup against Mitt Romney, the Republican front-runner in the 2012 race, the president trails by four percentage points.

Thirty-eight percent of likely Florida voters approve of the president’s job performance while 54 percent disapprove, according to a Sunshine State News poll. Eight percent remain undecided.

The majority (56 percent) of Florida voters say the economy has worsened in the past year, and 58 percent of those voters disapprove of the job Obama is doing as president, while 35 percent approve. Among the 14 percent who say the economy has gotten better, 42 percent disapprove of Obama’s job performance while 54 percent approve. Only 13 percent of Democrats think the economy in Florida has gotten better, compared to 14 percent of Republicans. More Democrats than Republicans think the economy has gotten worse in the past year, 62 percent to 51 percent, while 55 percent of independents think the economy has taken a turn for the worse.

Florida is a key battleground state which the GOP needs to win in the Electoral College. With 29 votes, a GOP victory would be a significant pick up.

Remember Obama won the state in 2008 by 3 points.

On another interesting note, Romney beats Obama among idependent voters 42 percent to 38 percent, while 16 percent remain undecided..

The entire poll is here.