Could Romney defeat Obama in Virginia?

“Romney edges Obama in Virginia

By BYRON TAU | 

12/21/11 8:25 AM EST

There are signs of a competitive race in Virginia, an important swing state that President Obama carried in 2008.

The latest Quinnipiac University poll shows Mitt Romney edging President Obama 44 percent to 42 percent among registered voters. The president's outlook improves significantly against Newt Gingrich, with Obama beating the former House Speaker 46 percent to 41 percent.

The president has a divided 45 to 47 percent favorable/unfavorable rating among all voters — a rating that improves a bit to 46 to 46 percent among independents. Fifty-one percent disapprove of the way he is handling his job. And 53 percent say he does not deserve to be reelected to a second term.

On questions of the economy, a 46 percent plurality of voters believe that Romney would do a better job than the incumbent president, while 45 percent believe Gingrich would do a better on the economy, compared to Obama's 43 percent.

President Obama was the first Democrat to carry Virginia since Lyndon Johnson in 1964. "To do it again in 2012, he'll need to improve his current standing among Virginians," said Quinnipiac's Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the university's Polling Institute.”