AP poll: Romney leads Obama 47-45, tied among female voters

A new poll finds GOP challenger Mitt Romney erasing President Obama’s lead among female voters and pulling ahead nationally with under two weeks to Election Day.

Romney holds 47 percent support from likely voters to Obama at 45 in the latest AP-GfK poll, an edge within the poll’s 4-point margin of error. Last month’s poll found Obama up, 47-46.

Among women, Romney is even with Obama, as both candidates attract 47 percent support. That figure is a sharp turnaround from the same poll last month, which showed Obama with a 16-point advantage.

{mosads}But Romney’s gains with female voters could be threatened by the controversy over Indiana GOP Senate candidate Richard Mourdock’s comments on pregnancies resulting from rape. 

The AP-GfK poll was taken before Mourdock’s remark, made in a debate late Tuesday, that “even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape that it is something God intended to happen.” 

Democrats quickly seized on the comment, looking to link Romney with the Senate candidate.

While the Romney campaign has said he disagrees with those comments, it has stood by its endorsement of Mourdock.

Fifty-five percent of female likely voters prefer Obama on women’s issues, with 41 percent picking Romney, in the AP-GfK poll.

Romney’s campaign has focused on economic issues in its efforts to sway female voters. Women favor Romney over Obama on the economy by 49 to 45 percent. Last month, Obama had the edge, 56-40.

Obama’s edge on which candidate better understands the problems of average voters has also slipped with female voters. Women say Obama understands their problems over Romney 50-43, down from an Obama 58-36 edge last month.

Still, the poll finds that Obama has gained among male voters, with Romney’s 13-point edge last month down to 5-.

The AP-GfK is the latest in a slew of surveys showing a tight race in the homestretch to Election Day. The Gallup daily tracking survey Wednesday showed Obama cutting Romney’s national lead to 3 points. Battleground state polls show many swing states are still a toss-up.

The AP-GfK poll was conducted Oct. 19-23.