Although President Obama is ahead in key swing states, a new NPR News poll shows the race is a virtual tie nationwide with just one week until Election Day.
In 12 battleground states highlighted in the poll, Obama leads by 4 percentage points at 50 percent support. Nationally, however, Mitt Romney is up by 1 point among likely voters at 48 percent. Three percent are still undecided.
The last time the NPR poll came out—on Oct. 3, the morning of the first presidential debate—the poll showed Obama with a seven-point lead over the Republican nominee, 51 percent to 44 percent. Romney's gain in the poll correlated well with the finding that 33 percent said the debates made them more likely to support Romney, compared to 28 percent who are more likely to vote for Obama.
Romney also saw major gains among independent voters, now leading Obama 51 percent to 39 percent nationwide. Though in battleground states, Obama is still seen as more favorable than Romney, with 54 percent favorability—8 points higher than Romney.
On the economy, the president still struggles, with 52 percent of respondents saying they do not approve of his handling of the economy.
The poll was conducted between 1,000 likely voters nationwide, with an over-sample of 462 voters from the 12 battleground states highlighted: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin. The poll was taken between Oct. 23 and Oct. 25, and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points nationwide and 4.5 percent percentage points in the battleground states.
This is the last NPR poll of the season.
Get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox. Sign up for National Journal's morning alert, Wake-Up Call, and afternoon newsletter, The Edge. Subscribe here.
Leave A Comment