COLUMBUS – A new poll shows the race for president in Ohio is too close to call, just days before President Barack Obama officially kicks off his re-election bid with a rally in Columbus on Saturday.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has closed the gap between him and Obama in Ohio and Florida — two crucial swing states. Romney trails Obama by eight points in Pennsylvania, according to a poll released Thursday by Quinnipiac University.

The latest poll shows:

• Obama with 44 percent and Romney with 42 percent in Ohio;

• It is also too close to call in Florida, where Romney has 44 percent to Obama’s 43 percent;

• Obama tops Romney 47 percent to 39 percent in Pennsylvania.

In a March 28 Quinnipiac poll, Obama led in all three of these swing states. Since John F. Kennedy’s victory in 1960, no one has won the White House without carrying at least two of these three states.

Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, has closed the gap in Ohio and Florida to the point where the two candidates are essentially tied.

“The good news for the president is that he has an eight-point lead in Pennsylvania, approaching the 11-point margin he had in carrying the Keystone State in 2008,” Brown said.

Romney campaigned at Otterbein University in suburban Columbus last week. Obama will hold a rally at Ohio State University’s Schottenstein Center Saturday.

The poll also shows that 67 percent of Ohioans believe the economy is in a recession, but 55 percent say that recovery has begun. Ohioans polled say Romney would do a better job on the economy, 47-43 percent.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, who plans to appear with Obama on Saturday, expects the president to talk about his record and agenda, the death of Osama bin Laden, the agreement to withdraw from Afghanistan, and the push to keep interest rates on federally subsidized students loans at 3.4 percent.

Romney and the Republican National Committee, meanwhile, rolled out a new slogan to use against Obama.

“The candidate of hope and change has become the president of hype and blame,” said RNC Chairman Reince Priebus Thursday.

Ohio GOP Chairman Bob Bennett said Obama has failed to deliver on his 2008 campaign promises.

“The question is simple: Are you happy with the high unemployment, massive debt, expensive gas and divisive politics? Are you better off than you were four years ago? Or is it time for a new president?” Bennett said.

Obama for America – Ohio spokeswoman Jessica Kershaw responded: “Under President Obama, we have seen 25 straight months of job creation, manufacturing on the rise nationally and here in Ohio, an auto industry rescued, and along with it, over a million jobs — including the 1 in 8 jobs in Ohio tied to the industry, and our overall economy is headed back on the right track after a decade of failed policies.”