President Obama waving to the crowd before taking off from Joint Base Langley Eustis. Photo: wiki commons.

USA Today – President Obama has inched ahead of Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney in the battleground state of Virginia, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll.

Obama edges Romney for the first time in this election cycle 47%-43%, according to the poll conducted Feb. 1-6.

“The Obama bump could be driven by the perception that the economy is improving,” says Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. “And, the nasty GOP primary fight is not helping Romney, exposing swing voters to lots of negative attacks on him from within his own party.”

Read full story.