Two new polls released Monday show President Obama leading Mitt Romney in Florida, although one survey shows the race with a one-point difference.

A new Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald/Bay News 9 poll conducted by Mason-Dixon finds 48 percent of likely Florida voters backing Obama with 47 percent supporting Romney.

“Despite what some people have tried to claim, this race is still close in Florida,” said Brad Coker, who conducted the Mason-Dixon Polling & Research survey. “It’s very much a toss-up.”

Another poll released Monday gives Obama a larger four-point lead over Romney. PPP’s newest Florida poll finds the president leading the former Massachusetts governor by a 50 to 46 margin—a three point improvement for Obama since PPP’s last poll of the state, which was conducted the weekend after the Republican convention. It represents the largest lead PPP has found for Obama in Florida since early June.

Both polls show Obama is buoyed by women and independents. Independents back the president by 11 percentage points in both polls. Obama has a 15-point advantage among women in the Mason-Dixon poll, while PPP has the president with an 11-point among female voters.

Romney leads by 6 percentage points among those 65 and older in the Mason Dixon poll and has an 8-point advantage among seniors in the PPP poll.

According to the Mason-Dixon poll, 49 percent say Obama can best protect Medicare, with 47 backing Romney.

The PPP poll finds Romney’s favorability rating has dropped since the group’s last poll in August. Romney’s favorability rating was at 49 percent and is now at 44 percent. Meanwhile, those who view him negatively climbed from 47 percent to 51 percent. Romney is viewed favorably by 43 percent and unfavorably by 39 percent in the Mason-Dixon poll.

The Mason Dixon poll shows 47 percent approve of Obama’s job performance and 45 percent disapprove. Forty-six percent have a favorable impression of Obama and 43 percent have an unfavorable one.

Both polls were conducted after the release of a secret recording of Romney suggesting that 47 percent of voters are government-dependent victims. According to PPP, 89 percent of voters are familiar with Romney’s comments and 50 percent consider them to have been inappropriate.

The Mason-Dixon phone survey of 800 registered Florida voters was conducted Sept. 17-19, and has a margin of error of +/- 3.5 percentage points. The PPP survey of 861 likely Florida voters was conducted Sept. 20-23, and has a margin of error of +/-3.3 percentage points.

Tags | Mason-Dixon, Mitt Romney, obama, PPP