Obama's Lead Shrinks in Virginia, University Poll Shows

President Obama and former Massaschusetts Gov. Mitt Romney are in a dead heat for the battleground state of Virginia, according to a poll released Thursday.

The two candidates are tied at 44 to 44 percent, according to a new poll by Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Ct.

 Obama's lead in the state is shrinking, according to previous polls by the university, which showed Obama leading by 47 to 42 percent in June and 50 to 42 percent in March.

"Virginia voters are sharply split along gender and political lines about the presidential race. The two candidates equally hold their own political bases and are splitting the key independent vote down the middle," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, in a release.

The poll shows that women favor Obama (46 to 41 percent) and men favor Romney (46 to 42 percent).

Obama campaigned in Virginia last weekend, including a stop . 

From July 10 - 16, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,673 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.4 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones.