President Barack Obama appears to have enjoyed a slight bounce from his performance in Tuesday night’s second presidential debate, widening his lead in Florida to 6 percentage points, according to the third of three NewsmaxZogby Tracking Polls.



Obama leads Mitt Romney 48 percent to 42 percent in the poll of 842 likely voters conducted from Tuesday through Thursday. That is up 3 percentage points from his lead in the first Florida poll conducted from Sunday through Tuesday, before the second debate.



But there is no telling how long the bounce will last — 10 percent of Florida voters are still undecided and there are 2 1/2 weeks remaining before the Nov. 6 election.



“The president had a stronger second debate by most accounts, including my own,” pollster John Zogby tells Newsmax.



“But make no mistake about it, they are still close.”



Florida is crucial to the election with 29 electoral votes.



The new poll shows that 50 percent of Florida voters “strongly approve” or “somewhat approve” of the job Obama is doing, up 2 points from the first poll, and 46 percent “strongly disapprove” or “somewhat disapprove.” But only 24 percent “strongly approve,” while 34 percent of respondents “strongly disapprove” of his job performance.



In the most recent NewsmaxZogby poll, 46 percent said Obama deserves to be re-elected, up from 43 percent in the first poll, while 43 percent said it is “time for someone new.”



But Obama’s lead among independents has slipped — they favor Obama 49 percent to 33 percent, down from a 51-to-30-percent margin in the second 3-day poll released on Thursday.



Obama has also seen his favorability among Hispanics dip, from 73 percent in the Thursday poll to 67 percent in the new poll.



Interestingly, Asian voters favor Romney by a huge margin, 61 percent to 7 percent.



Romney remains strong among households with a Union member, maintaining a 53-to-39-percent lead, compared to a 54-to-34-percent margin in the 3-day survey released on Thursday.



Romney leads in Northern Florida and along the state’s Interstate 4 corridor, while Obama leads in the South.



In the new poll, Obama leads among Democrats (88 percent-5 percent), 18-to-29-year olds (64 percent-29 percent), African-Americans (82 percent-11 percent), liberals (87 percent-9 percent), moderates (60 percent-29 percent), and both women (46 percent-40 percent) and men (50 percent-43 percent).



Romney leads among Republicans (85 percent-10 percent), conservatives (73 percent-17 percent), 50-to-64-year-olds (55 percent-37 percent), those 65 and over (47 percent-40 percent), whites (51 percent-39 percent), evangelical voters (56 percent-37 percent), and investors (57 percent-36 percent).



Despite Obama’s current lead in the Sunshine State, Zogby observes: “The president is not popular. His overall approval number just hit 50 percent in Florida.



“The president does not have a lock on Florida.”



The three-day poll was conducted online using information based on census data, voter registration figures, CIA fact books, and exit polls. Complex weighting techniques are employed to best represent the demographics of the population being surveyed.



The NewsmaxZogby Poll of Florida Likely Voters sampled 35 percent Democrats, 37 percent Republicans, and 28 percent independents; 70 percent were white, 15 percent Hispanic, and 13 percent African-American; and 15 percent were ages 18-29, 34 percent ages 30-49, 28 percent ages 50-64, and 23 percent age 65 or older.



The joint venture between Newsmax and the New York state-based pollster John Zogby is featuring tracking polls in Ohio, Florida, Virginia, and nationally right up to Election Day.



Next week: Virginia.











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