A new poll finds President Obama opening up a commanding 11-point lead in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.

A Philadelphia Inquirer poll released on Saturday shows Obama with 50 percent support to Romney’s 39 among likely voters in the state.

Obama has expanded his 8-point lead in the same poll taken last month, where he topped Romney with 51 percent to 42.

ADVERTISEMENT

Among independent voters, Obama leads the GOP Nominee by 47 percent to 36. He also holds a sizeable lead among female voters 52 to 39 and is ahead among men 46 to 40.

Obama still holds a net positive rating with 56 percent surveyed holding a favorable view to 40 unfavorable.

Romney is underwater, with 48 percent favorable to 46 unfavorable.

With under two months left before the election, the poll’s results show an uphill climb for the Romney campaign in Pennsylvania. Earlier this month, the Romney team began rolling out a series of ads in key battleground states but have dropped earlier ad campaigns in Pennsylvania.

A report from the AP said the campaign last advertised in the state in early April, when Romney was competing in the GOP primaries against former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. Santorum has since endorsed Romney.

In a report in USA Today last week, a spokesman for Crossroads GPS, a conservative outside spending group led by former President Bush strategist Karl Rove, also said that Pennsylvania was “not part” of the PACs campaign strategy.

The poll also asked voters for the first time for their views on the candidates’ religion. While more than two-thirds of respondents at 68 percent knew Romney was a Mormon, there was wider confusion about the president’s religion. Twenty-nine percent correctly identified Obama as a protestant and 12 percent saying he was a Muslim.

The poll was conducted from Sept. 9 to 12 and has a 4 point margin of error.