Latest AP Analysis: Advantage Obama

Byline: Associated Press

AMES, Iowa President Barack Obama is poised to eke out a victory in the race for the 270 electoral votes needed to win re-election, having beaten back Republican Mitt Romneys attempts to convert momentum from the debates into support in all-important Ohio, according to an Associated Press analysis a week before Election Day.

While the Democratic incumbent has the upper hand in the electoral vote hunt, Romney has pulled even, or is slightly ahead, in polling in a few pivotal states, including Florida and Virginia. The Republican challenger also appears to have the advantage in North Carolina, the most conservative of the hotly contested nine states that will determine the winner.

While in a tight race with Obama for the popular vote, Romney continues to have fewer state-by-state paths than Obama to reach 270. Without Ohios 18 electoral votes, Romney would need last-minute victories in nearly all the remaining up-for-grabs states and manage to pick off key states now leaning Obamas way, such as Iowa or Wisconsin.

To be sure, anything can happen …

Questia, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning. www.questia.com
Publication information: Article title: Latest AP Analysis: Advantage Obama. Contributors: Not available. Newspaper title: Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL). Publication date: October 29, 2012. Page number: 2. © 2009 Paddock Publications. COPYRIGHT 2012 Gale Group.

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