Obama Leads Romney In Pennsylvania, New Poll Shows

President Barack Obama leads his Republican opponent Mitt Romney by six points in Pennsylvania, according to a new poll, but voters in the battleground state think Romney will do a better job handling the economy.

The new Quinnipiac University poll has Obama ahead of Romney 46-40, boosted by women voters who favor the president 51 to 36 percent. He also leads Romney by eight points among independent voters in the Keystone state.

Still, 45 percent of voters feel Romney would create more jobs, as opposed to 43 percent for Obama. Recently, former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, an Obama surrogate, struggled to say definitively whether he thought the president would carry the state in November.

"President Barack Obama is holding his ground against Gov. Mitt Romney in Pennsylvania," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, in a statement accompanying the poll's release on Tuesday. "While almost four-fifths of voters, including 58 percent of Republicans, say the President is a likable person, where the rubber meets the road on the campaign trail--the economy--Romney has the lead."

Both Obama and Romney are scheduled to appear in Pennsylvania this week. The president will hold a campaign event and fundraiser in Philadelphia Tuesday, while Romney will travel to the state Saturday as part of his six-state, five-day bus tour.