(CBS News) Two states that Barack Obama won in 2008 - after going for former President Bush in 2004 - are now split between President Obama and Mitt Romney, according to the latest Quinnipiac University/CBS News/New York Times swing state poll.
Romney is ahead of the president in the swing state of Colorado, 50 percent to 45 percent. The poll shows a key part of Mr. Obama's Colorado coalition from 2008 -- college-educated white voters - in play this year.
Mr. Obama, meanwhile, leads Romney in Virginia, 49 percent to 45 percent, thanks in part to strong support from women and black voters.
In a third important state, Wisconsin, Mr. Obama has a 6-point lead over Romney, 51 percent to 45.
Colorado
Today's results come as the president embarks on a two-day, four-city campaign swing through Colorado. Romney campaigned in Colorado last week.
Four years ago, Mr. Obama won the support of white voters in Colorado by a slim, two-point margin, although he lost to John McCain among those with no college degree. Mr. Obama won the support of Colorado's white college graduates by a 14-point margin.
Now, however, white voters in the state back Romney, 54 percent to 41 percent. Romney even wins the support of white college graduates, with 49 percent support to Mr. Obama's 46 percent. The three-point lead is within the poll's margin of error.
There are age and gender gaps: men favor Romney over Mr. Obama by 17 points, while women favor the president by 8 points. Independents are divided. A majority of voters under 35 support Mr. Obama, while Romney leads among those age 36 and over.
Two thirds of Hispanic likely voters - who make up about one in 10 likely voters in the state - support the president, giving him 40-point lead over Romney among Hispanics.
Despite mass shooting, most Colo. voters don't favor stricter gun laws
A battle for women in a changing Colorado
Virginia
In 2008 Mr. Obama won both men and women in Virginia, but as in Colorado, there's now a significant gender gap there.
Mr. Obama leads by 14 points among Virginia's women, 54 percent to 40 percent. He trails Romney among men, 50 percent to 45 percent.
There are sizeable age differences in the Old Dominion, too: Mr. Obama leads among voters under 64, while Romney wins among those 65 and older.
Romney has a seven-point lead among independents in Virginia, and he also leads by seven points among military families. Fifty-seven percent of white voters support Romney, and that support grows to 63 percent among white voters with no college degree. Black voters, meanwhile, overwhelmingly support Mr. Obama over Romney (93 percent to 1 percent).
Wisconsin
In Wisconsin, Mr. Obama holds a commanding, 23-point lead among women. Romney, however, leads among men by 10 points, even though Mr. Obama won the support of men by seven points in 2008.
Union households, who make up a quarter of likely Wisconsin voters, support Mr. Obama by nearly two-to-one (61 percent to 36 percent).
Independent voters are divided, as are white voters. Mr. Obama does well among Wisconsin's white voters with college degrees, but Romney holds an edge among those without a degree.
Unlike in Colorado and Virginia, the president runs even among voters over 65 in Wisconsin (as he did in 2008).
