CBS News/ October 11, 2012, 5:39 PM

Poll: Romney edges Obama in Colo., narrows gap in Wis.

By Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Anthony Salvanto, Fred Backus and Lucy Madison

On the heels of last week's presidential debate, Mitt Romney has emerged with a one-point edge over President Obama in Colorado and has cut the president's lead in half in Wisconsin, according to a new Quinnipiac University/CBS News/New York Times poll.

In Wisconsin, where Mr. Obama led Romney by six percent last month, the president now holds just a three-point advantage, with 50 percent to Romney's 47 percent support. Last month, the president led Romney 51 to 45 percent.

In Colorado, the two remain locked in a dead heat, with Romney leading Mr. Obama 48 percent to 47 percent, within the poll's margin of error. Last month, also within that margin, Mr. Obama had the one-point edge, with 48 percent to Romney's 47 percent.

In Virginia, the presidential race remains essentially unchanged, with Mr. Obama holding on to a small lead over Romney, with 51 percent support to Romney's 46. In September, the president led Romney 50 percent to 46 percent there.

All three polls, conducted from October 4-9, began surveying voters after the first presidential debate.

By about four to one, voters in all three of these battleground states say Romney won last week's presidential debate, and sizable numbers say the debate made them think better of him. But majorities say the debate did not affect their vote.

In Colorado, only 16 percent of likely voters said Mr. Obama won the debate, while 72 percent chose Romney. In Virginia, the breakdown was similar, with 70 percent choosing Romney and 17 percent selecting the president. In Wisconsin, 65 percent said Romney won and 17 percent said Mr. Obama did. 

The debate had a positive impact on voters' impressions of Romney. More than four in ten voters in these states who watched the first presidential debate (and 51 percent in Colorado) say it made them feel better about  Romney. Fewer than one in 10 said that about Mr. Obama; more say it made them think worse of him.

Among voters who say the debate will impact their vote, the advantage goes to Romney. Even though majorities in these battlegrounds say the debate will have no effect on their vote, twice as many voters said the debate would make them more likely to vote for Romney than said so of Mr. Obama. Among independent voters, about half in these battleground states say the debate gave them a better impression of Romney, and about a quarter in each state say it made them more likely to vote for him.

Romney made gains among voters who are paying a lot of attention to the presidential campaign. Among these voters, Romney leads in Colorado by 53 percent to 44 percent, and in Wisconsin he leads by a smaller margin (51 percent to 47 percent). When measuring voters who have been paying close attention, the race becomes even in Virginia, 49 percent to 49 percent.

Republicans continue to be more enthusiastic than Democrats about voting this year in general. More than half of Republicans in Colorado and Wisconsin are more enthusiastic about voting in this election; this is true of just over a third of Democrats. In Virginia, the enthusiasm gap is narrower, with 48 percent of Republicans and 40 percent of Democrats identifying as more enthusiastic about voting this year.

Heading into tonight's vice presidential debate, voters in these three battleground states expect Paul Ryan to emerge the victor over Vice President Joe Biden. In Colorado, 47 percent of voters picked Ryan as the likely winner, while 30 percent picked Biden and 22 percent said they didn't know. In Wisconsin, Ryan bested Biden 49 percent to 32 percent. In Virginia, the gap was more narrow: 36 percent said Biden would likely win the debate, 41 percent chose Ryan, and 21 percent said they didn't know. 

Most Republicans and Democrats think their own party's vice presidential candidate will win the debate, though Republicans are more confident than Democrats. More independents are predicting a Ryan victory.

Joe Biden has a net favorable rating in Virginia, but he is viewed more unfavorably in Colorado and Wisconsin. Paul Ryan is viewed more favorably than unfavorably by voters in all three states, though more than one in four voters Colorado and Virginia said they don't know enough about him yet.


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© 2012 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
296 Comments Add a Comment
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indie-voter says:
535 comments, all claiming somebody else lied - and generally doing so from lame, uniformed opinions. It's tiresome and shows readers your own dim bulb.

Try using some facts and stop wasting readers' time. Or are you afraid your candidate's "truths" can't stand the light of review? Get real!

http://factcheck.org/2012/10/factchecking-the-hofstra-debate/

http://factcheck.org/2012/10/obamas-numbers/

http://factcheck.org/2012/10/veep-debate-violations/
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obamabiden2012 says:
Staying the course; moving forward.
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rugbyrocks says:
Anyone who supports the religious liberty of Muslims and Islamists in the Middle East and totally ignores the religious liberty of Catholics within his own country does not deserve to serve the people of that country. We are not better off than four years ago, and I see no evidence of anything changing. He has done nothing for women, and I think he panders to Hollywood and minorities ignoring everyone and everything else.
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wilsonclark says:
To those republican whole only think one way, mind you this is how you let Bush and Cheney play you with lies look at what you got after 8 years. you can make the same mistake by adapting to lies from your cheap politician who will sell everybody in their country just to keep stealing other people's wealth, and they can have the courage to point finger at people they put in food stamps after stealing all what belong to them. This people are so small that the only thing they have is stolen wealth.
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wilsonclark says:
To those republican whole only think one way, mind you this is how you let Bush and Cheney play you with lies look at what you got after 8 years. you can make the same mistake by adapting to lies from your cheap politician who will sell everybody in their country just to keep stealing other people's wealth, and they can have the courage to point finger at people they put in food stamps after stealing all what belong to them. This people are so small that the only thing they have is stolen wealth.
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obamabiden2012 says:
To krystal1p who writes "I can see the desperation starting to show from you zombies. Take another big swig of the obama kool aid and go back to bed. It will be over before you know it. Then, you can follow obozo back to kenya. dumba$$ "

Really?! why the hate? I tell my nephews "be nice...there's already enough meaness and hate in world." At 8 and 5 - they get it and want a nicer place to live without all they bullying. Me, too.

I vote Obama/Biden and I don't care what you call me; I'm just glad I'm not your mother, sister, aunt, wife or daughter.
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GOP-R--Con-Men says:
Dear Fellow Americans,

It is much easier to destroy something than to repair/restore it.

Republicans along with Bush/Cheney destroyed the country and looted our treasury. They block legislation to make corporations, big oil, big pharma and the super rich pay their fair share to restore revenue. They want you to replace President Obama with Romney as they continue fight and block anything to help struggling Americans and revive the economy.

Republican behavior is nothing short of treasonous including their bogus voter I.D. laws designed to strip voters including longtime voters of their right to vote by making it unreasonably difficult to obtain the added paperwork new I.D. laws require to vote. That alone is reason enough not to vote for the republican party which has thrown our constitution in the trash. In fact republicans have more allegiance to the GOP and Grover Norquist than our constitution. They must not be rewarded for using their public office to destroy our great nation, American way of life and the social safety net.
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jimisrael1 says:
hello puter shut down
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jimisrael1 replies:
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hello
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GOP-R--Con-Men says:
Ryan looked like a young con man lying to his older victim hoping he gets away with the scam before the victim realize they've been scammed. However, the victim was laughing and smiling during the scam attempt because he knew he was being scammed/lied too.
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natesampson says:
Ryan and Romney say they wouldn't change Social Security for those 55 and older, but if the younger workers are not required to pay Soc. Security payroll taxes - which are what pay current benefits of current retirees -
then Social Security will collapse for those already retired as well as for all others.

No one in the media or running for office ever connects these dots, but even college educated retirees don't make this connection. The free press is supposed to educate voters but is missing this HUGE
issue. I have to wonder if fear of senior voters is a major reason for
voter suppression efforts around the country. Those who can no longer drive have the most difficulty getting photo IDs to vote.
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