US Elections 2012 - Polls: Obama Leads Romney Among Swing-State Voters on Medicare

A new poll released by Gallup reveals that voters in 12 important election swing states place a higher trust in President Barack Obama (50 percent) over his opponent Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney (44 percent) in addressing issues concerning the Medicare system.

President Obama also holds a higher advantage on the issue of Medicare among voters nationally, the poll shows, with 51 percent to Romney’s 43 percent.

The results, which were published on Monday, were taken on September 11-17 in the USA Today/Gallup Swing States poll and were completed before news coverage of Romney’s “47 percent” comments was made.

According to Gallup, voters in Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania were included in the poll. The results also come days after news was reported that Obama held a slight lead among voters in Iowa and Virginia. The HuffPost also reported that Obama leads Romney in Colorado as well.

The poll also shows that swing-state voters are more inclined to believe Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have put a plan on Medicare in place (51 percent) than to believe Romney and Republican vice president nominee Paul Ryan have (44 percent). Gallup noted, however, that some voters may confuse Obama’s Affordable Care Act with Medicare.

Although Gallup found that swing-state voters were not optimistic that either party would strengthen Medicare in the next four years (33 percent believe that Obama will strengthen it, while 31 percent put their faith behind Romney), it did find that younger voters are among the most optimistic that Medicare will improve in the next 20 years.

According to the poll, 58 percent of swing state voters between 18 and 29 are optimistic that the program will be able to provide benefits in 20 years. Swing-state voters between 30 and 49 were the least optimistic, with a pessimistic rate of 62 percent. Overall, 53 percent to 44 percent of swing-state voters are more pessimistic about Medicare’s future than they are optimistic.

Romney has been seen trailing behind in polls after several gaffes have rocked his election campaign. These polls, however, may prove beneficial to the Obama re-election campaign as it attempts to woo swing-state voters in time of the November 6 elections.