Republican challenger Mitt Romney has pulled ahead of President Barack Obama in a national poll released Monday by the Pew Research Center, DPA reported.
Among likely voters, Romney pulled to a 49 per cent lead over Obama, who held 45 per cent support, marking the first time Romney has led in a major national poll.
An earlier poll by Pew from Septembewr 12-16 showed Obama in the lead with 51 per cent to Romney's 42 per cent.
Romney has surged in popularity especially among registered voters since his strong performance in Wednesday's first debate with Obama.
Until the debate, Obama had a narrow edge in an average of polls calculated by the website realclearpolitics.com. But the president until recently had a strong lead in key swing states which will decide the election.