By Tony Romeo

HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) — A  new Quinnipiac University poll shows Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney surging among likely voters in Pennsylvania.

The newest Quinnipiac poll shows President Obama leading Romney by just four points, 50 to 46 percent, among likely voters.

Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, says that’s down from a 12-point lead in the school’s previous poll in late September.

“What stands out as contributing factors is an eight-point jump in support from men,” Malloy tells KYW Newsradio.  “There is a 14-percent pickup from white Catholics.  While Obama’s popularity with women stays about the same, in other words very high, he’s lost ground in those two other categories.”

Quinnipiac’s new poll also shows a similar story in the race for US Senate in Pennsylvania, where Democratic incumbent Bob Casey’s once formidable 18-point lead over Republican Tom Smith in August is now down to just three points, 48 to 45 percent.