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Mitt leads Bam by 3 in national survey – but trails Barack in key swing states

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WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney yesterday widened his lead over President Obama in a national poll — but other surveys showed him falling behind in key states that will ultimately decide the race.

Romney jumped to a 3-point lead, 48-45 percent, in the latest Rasmussen Reports daily tracking poll of national voters.

That’s up 2 points from the same poll a day earlier.

The pollsters credited the change to such factors as the subsiding of Obama’s convention bounce and the impact of another bad jobs report last week.

“It is way too early to evaluate the political impact, if any, from recent events in the Middle East,” the pollsters said. “Despite the extensive news coverage of Arab attacks on US embassies, only 6 percent of voters consider national-security issues the most important during this election cycle.”

That’s little changed from 5 percent before the attacks began Tuesday.

Other national polls showed Obama ahead with as much as a 5-point advantage. A Gallup tracking poll yesterday found Obama leading, 49-44 percent.

But the biggest challenge for Romney is his standing in crucial swing states. Out of 12 such states, polls find him leading in just two: Missouri and North Carolina.

In the must-win battlegrounds of Florida, Ohio and Virginia, some polls show Obama pulling away from Romney.

A Rasmussen Reports survey put Obama ahead by 1 point in Ohio and Virginia and by 2 points in Florida.

But a recent Wall Street Journal/NBC poll showed Obama breaking out to 5-point leads in Florida and Virginia and a 7-point lead in Ohio.

It would be next to impossible for Romney to cobble together the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency without capturing Ohio and Virginia.

Various polls give Obama a narrow lead in the swing states of Colorado, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and Wisconsin. He also enjoys leads of as many as 10 points in Michigan and 9 in Pennsylvania.