Americans will tomorrow troop out to vote to decide who they want to rule the country, between President Barrack Obama, the incumbent who is also the candidate of the Democratic Party and the Republican’s candidate, Governor Mitt Romney. Leadership’s Bureau Chief in the country, ABIODUN OLUWAROTIMI, went round and writes on his findings.
The Tuesday’s presidential election in the United States can be described as the most celeberated issue in the entire world at the moment. Both candidates, Barrack Obama and Mitt Romney have done all they could to maintain a lead in their individual strongholds.
Reports have indicated that the incumbent and the candidate of the Democrats, Mr. Barrack Obama has been maintaining a narrow lead above his opponent, Mitt Romney in the early votes and polls conducted by media organizations in the country during the last days to the historic election.
The Wall Street Journal/NBC News had on Sunday released the results of a poll which shows President Obama and GOP nominee Mitt Romney deadlocked among likely voters with only two days remaining before the election.
The survey shows Obama leading Romney with 48 percent support to 47 contrary to last week when the two candidates were tied 47 percent each.
Obama’s edge is thanks in part to him holding a slightly stronger advantage with female voters than Romney enjoys with men. Obama leads among women 51 to 43 percent, while Romney leads with men 51 to 44.
The poll also comes after Hurricane Sandy which battered the east coast forced both candidates form the campaign trail.
The WSJ/NBC poll finds voters praising Obama’s handling of the natural disaster, with nearly 7 in 10 voters approving of his performance, with 15 percent disapproving. The poll found Obama’s approval was highest in the Northeast which faced the brunt of the storm’s fury with 75 percent approval.
The poll mirrors other national surveys which also show a tight race.
Also, an ABC News/Washington Post poll released Sunday showed the candidates tied at 48 each, the same finding from a Rasmussen poll released Saturday.
A slew of battleground polls, where the race is likely to be decided also show a tight race. A Columbus Dispatch poll finds Obama up 50 to 48 in the Buckeye state.
A Pennsylvania Tribune Review poll meanwhile finds the candidates tied at 47 in the Keystone state and a Public Policy Polling survey Saturday from Wisconsin showed Obama up 3, at 51 to 48.
Both candidates are spending the final two days criss-crossing the nation, hoping to rally supporters and sway undecided in key battleground states.
Obama will still visit New Hampshire, Florida, Ohio and Colorado, with Romney stopping in Iowa, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
However, GOP nominee Mitt Romney holds a strong 6-point lead in the southern battleground of Florida, according to a new poll released Sunday.
The latest Tampa Bay Times/Bay News 9/Miami Herald poll shows Romney with 51 percent support from likely voters to President Obama’s 45.
Romney’s numbers are down one from the same poll last month, but the survey shows him in commanding position with two days until the election.
Florida voters trust Romney better on the economy and say that he will look out more for the middle class by 50 to 48 for Obama. Romney also holds a 2-point advantage on which candidate would better manage foreign policy.
Romney is viewed more positively by voters in the state. Obama has a 42 percent favorable rating to 49 unfavorable, while Romney has a 53 favorable and 34 unfavorable split.
Romney’s advantage in Florida is thanks to Obama’s slipping numbers with female voters.? The president holds a 2-point lead among women, down from his 14-point edge in July.
Among independent voters, Romney is ahead 49 to 43, with 8 percent saying they are still undecided.
The poll also finds that Romney leads on Medicare, with 52 percent saying Obama’s policies would do more harm to the program long-term and 44 saying Romney’s proposals would.
Romney will return to Orlando on Monday to make one final pitch for the state’s votes.
Also, a new national poll finds President Obama and GOP nominee Mitt Romney tied as the campaigns make their final push before election day.
The latest ABC News/Washington Post poll released early Sunday shows the two candidates each receiving 48 percent support from likely voters.
Both candidates are also deadlocked among independent voters, with each receiving 46 percent support. Romney leads by 7 points among men, while Obama posts a 6-point advantage with female voters.
Supporters of both candidates say they are enthusiastic for their choice, with 95 percent of Obama voters saying that about their support to 94 percent of Romney backers.
The poll finds Obama’s job approval rating steady at 50 percent, with 48 disapproving.
Romney, who has made the economy, a centerpiece of his attacks holds a 3-point edge on that issue, 49-46. The president though tallies a 6-point edge on which candidate better understands the problems Americans face, 50 percent to 44.
Both candidates are viewed net favorably by voters, with Obama holding a 54 percent favorability rating and 45 unfavorable to Romney’s 53 favorable, 45 unfavorable.
The new poll which comes after Hurricane Sandy forced both candidates from the campaign trail shows that many voters are likely to weigh the president’s handling of the natural disaster to account. Forty-nine percent said Obama’s handling of the hurricane response would be a factor in their vote, with 22 percent tabbing it a major factor and 27 a minor one. Forty-nine percent said it would not factor into their ballot decision.
The close nature of the race is also underscored by a number of swing-state polls which show many battlegrounds still a toss-up.
But a Des Moines Register poll released late Saturday shows Obama up 5, with 47 percent support in Iowa to Romney’s 42. A Times Bay Tribune/Miami Herald Mason-Dixon poll shows Romney up 6 in Florida, with 51 to 45 percent support.
Speaking on the election, Mitt Romney’s political director Rich Beeson predicted the GOP nominee will win more than 300 electoral college votes on Election Night.
“It’s going to be a big win for Gov. Romney,” Beeson said in a statement.
Beeson argued that Romney is pushing into Democratic-leaning states like Pennsylvania and expanding the map, setting the stage for a big night for the presidential contender on Tuesday.
In a swift reaction, the Obama campaign counters that Romney is going into Pennsylvania because he’s trailing in Ohio and needs to find an alternative to try to make up the electoral votes.
Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod, who bet his mustache on Obama winning Pennsylvania, said that Team Romney’s move into Pennsylvania showed they were in “deep trouble.”
Still, the Obama campaign also put advertising dollars into Pennsylvania, and former President Clinton is making several stops in the state on Monday.
The Obama campaign said that it’s beating the Romney campaign among early voters in the battleground states, as the campaign touted the voter contacts its get-out-the-vote operation has made.
But the Romney campaign counters that Obama’s early-vote advantages in 2012 are smaller than in 2008, and that Team Obama is turning out early voters who would have come out on Election Day anyway, giving Mitt Romney an opportunity to pull ahead with the votes cast on Nov. 6.
The fight over early voting is much more contentious than in 2008, when Obama’s campaign banked an early advantage en route to the president’s win.
The Obama campaign said on a conference call with reporters that its early voting advantage will make it difficult from Romney to catch up on Election Day.
“Romney would have to win 65 percent of the remaining votes in North Carolina, 59 percent in Iowa and Colorado, 58 percent in Nevada, 55 percent in Florida and Ohio, and 52 percent in Virginia and Wisconsin,” the campaign said in the memo on early voting released Sunday.