Obama opens 51 to 42 pct lead over Romney in 12 top swing states: Poll

Washington, Apr 2(ANI): US President Barack Obama has opened a 51 percent to 42 percent lead over Republican candidate Mitt Romney in the country's top 12 swing states for the first time in the 2012 White House race, a new poll has found.

The USA TODAY/Gallup Poll also found that over six in ten women aged under 50 years support Obama, while Romney's support among them is 30 percent.

Romney, however, has 56 percent to 38 percent advantage over Obama among men aged 50 and above.

Republicans' traditional strength among men "won't be good enough if we're losing women by nine points or 10 points," Politico quoted a Republican strategist Sara Taylor Fagen,as saying

"The focus on contraception has not been a good one for us ... and Republicans have unfairly taken on water on this issue," she added.

The poll also found that Romney leads among all men by a single point, but Obama leads among women by 18.

This reflects a greater disparity between the views of men and women than the 12-point gender gap in the 2008 election. (ANI)