The Hill News

President Obama enjoys a slight lead among Pennsylvania voters in his battle for reelection in 2012, a new poll found Thursday.

The president leads a hypothetical Republican challenger by six points in the Pennsylvania, a key state in the 2012 electoral college map.

Forty-five percent of registered voters in the Keystone State would choose Obama over a Republican challenger, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday. Thirty-nine percent of voters would elect a generic Republican candidate, while 11 percent said it depends on the candidate, and five percent did not know.

Obama suffers from slightly tighter numbers among Pennsylvanians asked whether or not he deserves reelection. Forty-eight percent said Obama deserves a second term, while 45 percent said he does not.
Obama won the White House in 2008 after easily carrying Pennsylvania, 55-44 percent. The state has been coveted by Republicans for several election cycles now, though no GOP nominee has won the state since George H.W. Bush in the election of 1988.

Still, Republicans are optimistic about their ability to make inroads in parts of the Midwest following their big victories in the 2010 midterm elections. Republican Pat Toomey won the state's Senate race rather easily, and the GOP picked up the governor's mansion, and five House seats.

Pennsylvania's nonetheless a key state for any candidate looking to build a coalition of states to add up to 270 electoral votes. The state lost one vote in the Census Bureau's reapportionment decisions, and will carry 20 votes in 2012.

Still, the Quinnipiac poll represents somewhat of a rebound from the political doldrums in which Obama found himself in 2010. Last summer, Obama led a GOP challenged 41-! 37 percent, and more voters said he did not deserve reelection! .

The new Quinnipiac poll, conducted Feb. 8-14, has a 2.7 percent margin of error.