Allentown Morning Call
Mitt Romney is ahead in Pennsylvania for the first time in the presidential campaign, according to a Republican pollster.
Susquehanna Polling and Research, which has consistently showed better news for Republicans than other statewide polls, has Romney leading Barack Obama 49 percent to 45 percent in a survey released Thursday of 1,376 likely Pennsylvania voters.
In the race for a U.S. Senate seat in Pennsylvania, the poll has Republican Tom Smith besting Democrat Bob Casey, the incumbent, 48 percent to 46 percent.
The poll was conducted for the Pennsylvania Republican Party, which sent out a fundraising plea using the poll results.
“We’re close and we have the lead in the home stretch,” GOP Chairman Rob Gleason wrote. “We can win this!”
Other statewide polls this week, including The Morning Call/Muhlenberg College Poll, have shown the race tightening, but they still have Obama and Casey up by a few points.
Jim Lee, Susquehanna’s pollster, has explained that he weights his polls by party registration based on a voter turnout he said is most realistic this year.
In a Susquehanna poll released Oct. 8, Obama led Romney in Pennsylvania 47 percent to 45 percent. That survey was not commissioned by any group.
The two-point margin was identical to the results of a Susquehanna poll conducted for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on Sept. 23 and similar to one done a week earlier for the state GOP that showed Obama at 48 percent and Romney at 47 percent in Pennsylvania.
Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/pennsylvania/mc-pa-romney-gop-poll-20121019,0,5545281.story