Poll finds Romney with 7-point lead over Obama in Florida

{mosads}In terms of favorability, Romney is viewed favorably by 50 percent of those surveyed while 38 percent have an unfavorable view of him. Meanwhile 45 percent said they have a favorable view of Obama while 49 percent said they have an unfavorable view. 

Notably, Romney has a slight lead among Hispanic voters, a voting bloc the Obama campaign expects to win handily. The poll found Romney with 46 percent support of Hispanics and Obama with 44 percent.

The poll was released a few hours before the first vice presidential debate. Mason Dixon found 39 percent of Floridians had a favorable view of Vice President Biden while 46 percent had an unfavorable view. Paul Ryan, Biden’s counterpart on the GOP ticket, had much better numbers. Forty-eight percent of those surveyed said they had a favorable view of Ryan while 35 percent said they have an unfavorable view.

The poll’s findings are the latest in a series of polls, both statewide and on the national level, that have found a shift away from Obama and toward Romney since their first debate in Denver.

The poll was conducted among 800 likely voters from Oct. 8-10. The poll had a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.