Obama leads 2012 race in Ohio, poll shows

President Obama bests former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in the key swing state of Ohio, according to a new survey of registered voters conducted by Quinnipiac University's Polling Institute.

The president holds a 4 percent lead over Romney in the survey—45 to 41 percent. The Ohio findings are encouraging news for the president, amid multiple surveys that show Romney leading the GOP field or beating Obama in the 2012 general election.

Obama bests Romney, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and Texas Gov. Rick Perry—in that order—in today's poll.

But it's not all good news.

Though Ohioans appear to favor Obama for the general election, the survey shows voters may not be terribly happy with that option. Those surveyed remain split 46 to 47 percent on whether Obama deserves a second term, and they give him a negative job-approval rating of 50 percent to 46 percent approval.

Quinnipiac analysts suggest Obama's lead in Ohio is due to a lack of voter enthusiasm about the prospective GOP field.

"His middling job and re-election ratings show that there may be a potential opportunity to defeat President Obama in 2012 in Ohio, but for that to occur the GOP will have to nominate a candidate that can capture the public's imagination to a degree not yet evident," Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Institute, said in his analysis.

Today's results offer evidence Obama hasn't increased his appeal in Ohio this year. A Quinnipiac survey of Ohio in May showed registered voters split on whether the president deserves re-election.

The president's advisors cite Toledo, where the president stopped last month to tour a Jeep plant, as one place where supporters are mobilizing.

Obama lost Ohio to Hillary Clinton in the 2008 Democratic primary, but he beat John McCain there by 4 percentage points in the general election.