While Mitt Romney's choice of Congressman Paul Ryan as his running mate seems to have shifted the Republican presidential campaign's focus away from its main target of the economy, the results of a new poll suggest that the selection has given Romney a big boost in Ryan's home state of Wisconsin.
The poll, released by liberal-leaning Public Policy Polling on Tuesday, showed Romney with a slim 48 percent to 47 percent lead over President Barack Obama among likely Wisconsin voters.
Although Romney's 1-point lead is well within the poll's margin of error, it still represents a significant shift from the results of a poll conducted in early July, which showed Obama with a 50 percent to 44 percent lead.
Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling, said, "Wisconsin really is starting to look like a toss up in the Presidential race."
"The big question is whether this is just a bounce from Paul Ryan's selection as running mate, or if the increased Republican competitiveness will prove to be lasting," he added.
PPP said the choice of Ryan as vice president seems to have helped unify Republican voters in Wisconsin, with the latest poll showing Romney with an 88-point lead among Republican voters compared to a 78-point lead in the July poll.
The latest poll also showed that Obama's lead among independents has narrowed to 4 points from the 14-point advantage shown previously.
PPP noted that Democrats also continue to face an enthusiasm gap in Wisconsin, with Republicans still showing a high level of energy following the party's victory in June's recall election.
While the poll also showed that 46 percent of Wisconsin voters oppose Ryan's plan to reform Medicare, Romney continues to have a big lead among seniors, as the concern with the Ryan plan is coming much more from young voters.
The survey of 1,308 likely Wisconsin voters was conducted August 16th through 19th and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points.
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