A new Dispatch Poll shows him trailing President Barack Obama in bellwether Ohio by 9 points, 51 percent to 42 percent.
A surge of Democratic support for Obama has transformed the race since the first Dispatch Poll had the two dead-even at 45 percent just before the Republican National Convention in late August.
The survey is the fifth major poll — from The Washington Post to Fox News — of Ohio voters in a week to show the president ahead by 5 to 10 points. He also leads in surveys of most of the remaining swing states.
Obama’s rise comes at an especially fortuitous time for the Democrat: Ohioans begin casting early ballots in two days.
Thus, while Romney is counting on strong performances in a trio of presidential debates that begin Wednesday night in Denver to transform the campaign, every day that Obama leads allows the incumbent to lock in supporters — much the way he did with great success in the 2008 election.
MORE: Dispatch Poll: Obama widens lead as balloting starts | The Columbus Dispatch.