Romney, Obama Remain in Dead Heat in Florida, Ohio After Second Debate
The race for the White House is still tight in the two largest battleground states of Florida and Ohio after the second presidential debate. President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney are also tied nationally.
The latest Fox News poll of likely voters in Florida has Romney with 48 percent support and Obama with 45 percent. And in the CNN/ORC International poll of likely voters in the same state, 49 percent said they support Romney, and 48 percent said they back the president.
In Florida, which has 29 electoral votes, Romney's favorability stands at 55 percent versus 51 percent for Obama, according to the Fox poll.
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Likely voters in Ohio, which has 18 electoral votes, gave similar results. The Fox poll has Obama with 46 percent support and Romney with 43 percent. Obama is also leading in favorability in the state with 53 percent, as opposed to Romney's 48 percent.
Obama made little gains nationally after his slightly better performance in the second debate than the previous showdown. A CNN poll found that two out of three debate watchers said Romney won the first debate, but the second debate, held in Hempstead, New York, on Oct. 16, was a draw.
The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll shows Obama leading with a narrow margin, 46 percent to 45 percent. "It's very much neck and neck. I anticipate actually that we're going to see these numbers neck and neck all the way to Election Day," said Ipsos pollster Julia Clark.
The third and final debate will take place in Florida on Monday.
Obama will then launch two campaign tours through six battleground states next week, according to Reuters. He will campaign in Iowa on Wednesday, then in Colorado, Nevada, Florida and Virginia. He will end the tour in Ohio.
Obama will also cast his ballot early in his home town of Chicago.
"As the President crisscrosses the nation, he will spend time on Air Force One calling undecided voters, rallying National Team Leaders and volunteers and continuously engaging with Americans," Obama campaign said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Romney heightened attack on Obama. A new Romney ad and fundraising appeal criticizes Obama's policies on debt, health care, taxes, energy and Medicare, arguing that he is merely offering more of the same, according to The Associated Press.
"Although President Obama won't lay out his plan for a second term, we already know what it will be – a repeat of the last four years. We can't afford four more years of crushing debt and wasteful spending,'' Romney says in the letter, adding he has a clear plan to put America on a path to prosperity.
