Obama losing to Romney in Pennsylvania, poll says

The sluggish economy is dragging down President Obama's political standing, including in the must-win state of Pennsylvania.

Republican candidate Mitt Romney leads Obama 44%-42% in a new Quinnipiac University poll, well within the margin of error but less than comfortable for an incumbent president.

Obama's approval rating among Pennsylvanians is 43%, with 51% disapproving of his performance in office.

"If it's any consolation to the White House, voters say Obama acted more responsibly than Republicans during the debt ceiling debate, and approval ratings for Congress are just plain miserable," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

With an unemployment rate of 9.2%, Obama has similar problems throughout the industrial Midwest.

That's probably one reason Obama plans a Midwest bus tour for Aug. 15-17; specific sites have not been announced.

In Pennsylvania -- essential for any Democrat in a presidential race -- Obama is struggling in a theoretical matchup with long-shot Republican candidates (and former Pennsylvania senator) Rick Santorum.

Obama leads Santorum -- who lost his re-election bid in 2006 -- by 44%-42% in Pennsylvania.

The president leads Tea Party favorite Michele Bachmann in Pennsylvania, by 47%-39%. Obama leads prospective Republican candidate Rick Perry, 45%-39%.

Pennsylvania voters say 52%-42% that Obama does not deserve to be re-elected, the poll said.

From Quinipiac:

President Obama has acted more responsibly in the debt ceiling debate than congressional Republicans, voters say 44 - 37 percent in the independent Quinnipiac University poll concluded Sunday as agreement on a new debt limit was announced.

Looking at the other players in the national debt debate, Pennsylvania voters:

Disapprove 68 - 28 percent of the job Republicans in Congress are doing;
Disapprove 67 - 28 percent of Democrats in Congress.

"Any good poll is a snapshot of public opinion and this survey shows President Barack Obama at a low point just before a major announcement on the national debt limit, after a long and bitter debate," Malloy said. "Let's see how the public reacts to the news and whether today's results are a baseline for measuring future results, or whether they show the president is in big trouble in Pennsylvania, a key swing state."

Malloy also said:

"While Obama was slugging it out with Republicans in Washington, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum were closing the gap in the Keystone State for the 2012 presidential race. How much this shift has to do with the just concluded debt ceiling debate is difficult to read. Again, we'll have to wait to see if Obama gets a bounce or whether he gets bounced."

A June 15 Quinnipiac University survey showed Obama topping Romney 47 - 40 percent in Pennsylvania and leading Santorum 49 - 38 percent.

Romney tops a possible Republican presidential primary field with 21 percent, unchanged from June 15. Other results are:
Santorum with 14 percent, compared to 16 percent June 15;
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin with 12 percent, compared to 11 percent;
Bachmann with 11 percent, up from 5 percent;
Perry with 8 percent. He was not included June 15.

No other candidate tops 5 percent.

From July 25 - 31, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,358 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.7 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones. The survey includes 532 Republicans with a margin of error of +/- 4.3 percentage points.