The Hill News

Voters in Ohio are split on whether President Obama deserves a second term, according to a new poll released Thursday. 

Obama's job approval rating saw a slight uptick to 49-45 percent in May from 47-48 percent in April, a Quinnipiac University poll shows. But when asked if Obama deserves to be reelected, registered voters split 47-47 percent.

The president also fares worse against a generic Republican: 49 percent say they would vote for Obama compared to 39 percent who would vote for a Republican, a statistical tie. In April, Obama led a generic GOP foe 41-34 percent, a seven-point margin. Fifty-five percent of voters also disapprove of Obama's handling of the economy.

The poll indicates that early in the campaign season, Ohio's electoral votes are up for grabs. The state typically serves as a key swing state during presidential election and whoever wins the state often wins the general election. 

Quinnipiac's assistant polling director P! eter A. Brown also noted that Obama did not receive the so-called "bin Laden bounce" -- the approval rating surge he saw nationally after the killing of the al Qaeda leader -- in Ohio.

"His approval rating has barely moved, but symbolically it’s on the positive side again. His matchup against an unnamed Republican, however, is down," Brown said. "In Ohio at least, the question of whether there is a ‘bin Laden bounce’ apparently has been answered. And the White House can’t be happy with the answer."

Quinnipiac surveyed 1,379 registered voters by phone between May 10-16. The margin of error is 2.6 percentage points.