Hank Silverberg, wtop.com

WASHINGTON – The president may be regaining some of the popularity that helped him win Virginia four years ago, according to a new poll.

The latest poll from Quinnipiac University shows President Obama ahead of Republican Mitt Romney in Virginia by four points, 47 percent to 43 percent. That is a five point turnaround from the last poll on Dec. 21 when Romney had a 44 to 42 percent lead. The same poll shows the president ahead of other potential GOP nominees by even bigger margins.

Pollster Peter Brown says the poll shows the president’s favorable rating now at 46 percent, up from 41 percent in December, while 49 percent of those polled in Virginia still think the president is not doing a good job.

“The economy seems to be getting slightly better and that acceptance among voters seems to work in the president’s favor,” says Brown.

At the same time, Mitt Romney dropped only 1 point since December.

“The pounding that Mitt Romney has been taking from other republicans both in paid media and free media has certainly some effect on the race between the president and Mr. Romney” Brown says.

The same poll looked at the U.S. Senate race in Virginia. Democrat Tim Kaine and Republican George Allen remain in a statistical dead heat with 45 percent for Kaine and 44 percent for Allen.

The margin of error on the poll is plus or minus 2.5 percent.

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