Gallup daily poll shows Obama stretching lead to 50-44 over Romney

President Obama has stretched his lead over Mitt Romney to 6 percentage points nationally, according to the Gallup daily tracking poll released Wednesday.

Obama takes 50 percent support over Romney’s 44 percent.

The president has hit the 50 percent mark only twice before in the poll, most recently after the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., earlier this month.

{mosads}Obama’s approval rating has also jumped in recent weeks, and sits at 51 positive and 43 negative, according to Gallup.

Obama now leads the Real Clear Politics (RCP) average of polls by 4 percent. Romney led the Gallup daily tracking poll on Aug. 27, 47 to 46 percent over Obama, but that’s the last time any major poll has shown him in the lead.

A string of polls in September has shown Obama pulling away, in some cases by as many as 8 percentage points, and the daily tracking polls have scarcely fluctuated over that time.

Gallup has been almost completely static, with each candidate averaging near 45 percent support throughout most of the cycle.

The latest survey from conservative-leaning Rasmussen still shows the race tied at 46 percent.

The relative steadiness of the national race magnifies the recent polls showing Obama pulling away, and appears to now mirror Obama’s advantage in the critical battleground states, where he has consistently held a slight edge.

A Washington Post poll released late Monday showed Obama with leads in Ohio and Florida. Obama led Romney by 8 points in Ohio, 52-44 percent, and by 51-47 percent in Florida.

The new Quinnipiac University/CBS News/New York Times poll released Wednesday shows Obama leading Romney by 53-43 percent among likely voters in Ohio and with a 53-44 percent edge in Florida.

Gallup’s 7-day rolling average of 3,050 registered voters has 2 percent margin of error.