Obama leads Romney in Ohio and Florida

US President Barack Obama maintains a lead over his Republican rival, Mitt Romney, in the key battleground states of Ohio and in Florida, a new public opinion poll has found.

US President Barack Obama maintains a lead over his Republican rival, Mitt Romney, in the key battleground states of Ohio and in Florida, a new public opinion poll has found.

The NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist survey made public on Friday indicated that that three days before Tuesday's vote, Obama holds a six-point advantage over Romney among likely voters in Ohio - 51% to 45%.

In Florida, the President enjoys the support of 49% of likely voters compared to Romney's 47%.

Victories in these two states will be key to winning the White House on Tuesday. Ohio awards 18 electoral college votes and Florida 29.

A candidate needs 270 electoral college votes to win a second term.

The NBC/WSJ/Marist poll of Florida had a margin of error of plus-minus 2.5 percentage points while the survey of Ohio had a margin of sampling error of plus-minus 3.1 percentage points.