Poll Finds Romney Gaining In Ohio, Florida, Virginia

Mitt Romney is gaining in three key swing states one week after his strong debate performance, according to a new poll released late Wednesday.

The latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist polls show Romney and President Obama in a statistical tie in Virginia and Florida, with Obama holding a slight edge in Ohio, a third major battleground.

In Virginia, Romney now leads the president 48 percent to 47, a 3-point shift from the same poll released last week on the day of the debate.

In Florida, Obama is holding on to his pre-debate 1-point edge. Obama won 48 percent support in the new poll compared to 47 percent for Romney. In last week’s poll, Obama had a 47-46 edge.

Among likely Ohio voters, Obama still leads Romney 51 percent to 45 percent, but the new figures show a 2-point bounce for the GOP challenger. Last week Romney trailed in the state, 51-43.

The NBC/Journal/Marist numbers are the latest in a slew of polls showing Romney enjoying a bounce post-debate, with a Gallup tracking survey of likely voters earlier this week showing him leading nationally for the first time. A Pew Research poll also found Romney up nationally by 4 points.

Obama and Romney will debate twice more before Election Day. Vice President Biden and GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan will debate Thursday night.

In all three states surveyed by NBC/Journal/Marist, Romney has gained in favorability and among independents.

In Virginia, Obama and Romney had been deadlocked among independents, who now break for Romney 50 to 42 percent. In Ohio, Romney was down among independents 47 percent to 43 percent, but now leads among the key group with 49 percent support to Obama’s 41 percent.