Casey-Smith Senate race 'too close to call,' poll says

A Quinnipiac University Poll released this morning shows the races for president narrowing in Pennsylvania and U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr.'s bid for a second term "too close to call."

President Obama leads Republican nominee Mitt Romney 50-46 percent.  That is an eight-point drop for Obama since Quinnipiac's September poll showed him leading Romney 54-42 percent.

Casey leads former coal company owner Tom Smith of Armstrong County 48-45 percent. Casey held an 18-point lead in August but has been outspent by Smith in campaign advertising.

"Tom Smith's relentless TV ad barrage has lifted him out of the coal mine to give Sen. Robert Casey a run for his money," Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute said in a release this morning.

As we reported Monday, Smith sunk another $10 million of his coal fortune into his campaign from July 1 to Sept. 30.  That brings his investment in the campaign to $16.5 million so far.  Smith had $7.2 million in the bank as of Sept. 30 while Casey has $5.2 million.