Ron Paul, President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney | Obama photo credit: vipflash - Shutterstock

A poll from Public Policy Polling, a firm with connections to prominent Democrats, found that President Barack Obama would have a fight to keep Florida in his column in 2012 as two Republican candidates -- former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas -- were right on his heels in the Sunshine State.

Obama led Romney by the skin of his teeth, taking 46 percent against the Republican who was right behind him with 45 percent. Obama led Paul by the same margin, beating the Texas congressman 45 percent to 44 percent. The president did better against three other Republican hopefuls. Obama took 49 percent against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota who trailed with 44 percent. The president garnered 50 percent against Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who followed with 43 percent. Obama did best when matched against former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, beating the former congressional leader 50 percent to 42 percent.

In a statement on Thursday, Dean Debnam, president of PPP, contrasted how the two leading GOP hopefuls in the race -- Romney and Perry -- did against Obama in Florida.

“Florida makes it pretty clear that out of the two Republican front-runners there’s one who can beat Barack Obama and one who can’t,” said Debnam. “There’s no way the GOP wins next year without Florida, and it doesn’t look like Rick Perry can do that.”

The poll found that all six politicians in the survey were upside down in the Sunshine State.

A majority of Florida voters -- 51 percent -- disapproved of Obama’s performance in the White House, while 46 percent approved of it. Forty-two percent of those surveyed approved of Obama’s policy in regard to Israel, while 49 percent disapproved of it.

Romney -- who took 31 percent and won 18 of the Sunshine State’s 67 counties in the 2008 primary -- did the best among the Republicans. Forty percent of those surveyed saw Romney in a favorable light while 46 percent viewed him unfavorably.

Paul, who took 3 percent in the 2008 Republican primary in Florida, was seen as favorable by 31 percent and unfavorable by 51 percent.

While 29 percent of those surveyed saw Perry favorably, 58 percent viewed the Texas governor as unfavorable. Perry was not helped by his statement that Social Security was a “Ponzi scheme.” Only 25 percent of those surveyed agreed with that, while a solid majority of Floridians -- 63 percent -- disagreed with it.

Fifty-seven percent of those surveyed saw Gingrich as unfavorable, while 28 percent viewed the former congressional leader in a favorable light.

Bachmann had the lowest favorable numbers -- 26 percent -- while 56 percent viewed her unfavorably.

The poll of 476 Florida voters was taken Sept. 22-25 and had a margin of error of 4.5 percent.

Reach Kevin Derby at (850) 727-0859 or at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com.