Obama builds lead in Ohio and Florida, poll shows

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Obama takes lead in several key swing states

Ed Henry reports from Ohio

President Obama has widened his lead in two vital swing states where he and Mitt Romney are competing intensely for votes, according to results from a new poll out Wednesday.

The Quinnipiac University/New York Times/CBS News poll showed Obama leading Romney in Ohio and Florida.

The survey showed Obama leading 53-43 percent in Ohio, and 53-44 percent in Florida.

The findings come as both candidates prepare for a day of campaigning across Ohio. The president is speaking Wednesday in Bowling Green and later at Kent State University. Romney is holding a rally Wednesday morning in Westerville, Ohio, before meeting with business leaders and later holding a rally in Toledo.

The poll showed some openings for Romney. Voters generally viewed him as the better candidate for closing the budget deficit. The poll, though, could reflect Romney's "bad week in the media," according to Quinnipiac Polling Institute Assistant Director Peter Brown.

Brown, in a statement, said the "furor" over Romney's hidden-camera remarks in which he described those who don't pay taxes as a vital part of Obama's base could be a factor in Obama's gains. However, he noted, Romney has a big chance to "reverse the trend" in the upcoming debates, which start next week.

The poll also showed Obama leading Romney 54-42 percent in Pennsylvania.

The Florida poll of 1,196 likely voters had a margin of error of 2.8 percentage points. The Ohio poll of 1,162 likely voters had a margin of error of 2.9 percentage points. The Pennsylvania poll of 1,180 likely voters had a margin of error of 2.9 percentage points. The surveys were taken Sept. 18-24.