New polls conducted for Fox News released late on Wednesday show President Obama leading Mitt Romney in three battleground states -- Florida, Ohio, and Virginia -- as surveys continue to depict the incumbent ahead in the race to 270 electoral votes. Obama's lead in Florida is within the survey's margin of error, but his advantages in Ohio and Virginia are considered statistically significant.
In Florida, Obama leads, 49 percent to 44 percent, with 7 percent of likely voters choosing another candidate or undecided. Likely voters trust Obama more to protect Medicare, while the two candidates run closer on the economy and job creation.
Obama leads in Ohio, 49 percent to 42 percent. Ten percent prefer another candidate or are undecided. By a 7-point margin, likely voters trust Obama more to do a better job "improving the economy and creating jobs," 50 percent to 43 percent.
Romney's image rating continues to lag in the Buckeye State; it is the only one of the three states in which his favorability rating is upside-down: 45 percent favorable, versus 50 percent unfavorable.
In Virginia, Obama leads by 7 points in a head-to-head matchup, 50 percent to 43 percent. When pollsters tested former GOP Rep. Virgil Goode, who is the Constitution Party's presidential candidate, Obama maintained a 7-point edge, 49 percent to 42 percent, with 2 percent for Goode.
The Fox News polls were conducted Sept. 16-18 by Democratic pollster Anderson Robbins Research and the Republican Shaw & Company Research. The polls surveyed 829 likely voters in Florida, 1,009 in Ohio, and 1,006 in Virginia. Each poll carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.