Ohio Polls Show Narrow Lead For Obama In Battleground State

Ohio polls are the most closely watched in the country as the 2012 election approaches, and it has been widely speculated that Mitt Romney can only win the presidency in November if he grabs the electoral votes in that particular swing state.

Ohio polls have been fairly consistent in the lead up to the election, however, with Mitt Romney ever trailing the President in the battleground state. And even as Romney has gained some traction after a strong debate showing, he’s still not besting Obama in the Ohio polls.

Pollsters say Obama is beating Romney with a 51 percent to 47 precent lead in the Ohio polls, as per data collected by CNN following the first presidential debate in Denver last week.

Still, Republicans inside and outside of Ohio are hopeful that Romney will pull further ahead in Ohio polls, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich commented on Romney’s prospects in the state on a Tuesday conference call. Kasich said:

“There isn’t any question that he has breathed new life and new energy into the Republican Party … We’re seeing that there is greater intensity among Republicans and a great willingness to get out and vote and participate than we’re seeing with Democrats.”

While Romney trails in Ohio, the GOP candidate is likely to pull out all the stops before the big day in November. No Republican candidate has ever managed to pull off a win without Ohio, and if Romney loses as Ohio polls predict, he would have to carry every battleground state save for New Hampshire in order to clinch the election.

Have you been watching the Ohio polls in the lead up to the election?