Poll: Romney and Obama virtually tied in Florida

Tampa - Mitt Romney and Barack Obama are virtually tied in Florida, a big swing state in the presidential election. The poll also shows a clear majority believe the country is going in the wrong direction.

A new Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald/Bay News 9 poll finds 48 percent of likely Florida voters backing Obama, 47 percent supporting Romney, 1 percent with Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson and just 4 percent undecided. With a 3.5 margin for error, the poll shows a tie race in Florida, according to a Tampa Bay Times report. "It's still very much a toss-up. It's a turnout game," said Brad Coker of Mason-Dixon Polling and Research. The best news for Romney may be that 52 percent of Florida voters say the country is heading in the wrong direction while only 43 percent say it's on the right track. The mainstream media has relentlessly replayed a remark by Romney that stated about 47 percent of Americans pay no federal income tax, however the fixation by media on the remarks seem to have not hurt the Republican candidate, who did not back down from his remarks. "We've had this swirl of coverage over the last couple of weeks, and it doesn't seem to have made a real impact with average voters," said Coker, who led the poll last week just as Romney's 47 percent comment dominated the news. "The talking class and the analysts, and the inside the beltway bubble people all think this stuff is big and important, and the voters don't think it's all that important.”