The latest data from the Washington Post confirms the overall picture of the 2012 electoral map as a challenge for Mitt Romney:

Among likely voters, Obama is ahead of Romney in Ohio by 52 to 44 percent. In Florida, the president is up 51 to 47 percent, a numerical but not statistically significant edge. Among all registered Florida voters, Obama is up nine percentage points.

The new numbers come one week after a Washington Post poll in Virginia showing Obama with a clear lead there. More than half of all money spent in the campaign has focused on these three states, and many analysts say Romney has to win two of the three to capture the White House. ...

Both campaigns had thought of Florida as potentially more hospitable to Romney than to the president. Obama’s competitive standing there — benefiting, as he also did in the Virginia poll, from a huge lead among female voters — spotlights Romney’s recent struggles. For its part, Ohio has been the scene of hard-fought campaigns the past three elections and is widely seen as a barometer of economic stress.