From NYT: “Race Narrows As Campaign Enters Its Final Week” - The economy continues to be the overwhelming issue on the minds of voters, with about three-quarters selecting the economy as either their first or second most important concern. Another 23 percent named the budget deficit as one of their top two issues. Most voters consider Mr. Romney the better candidate to deal with both of those challenges.
From AP: “Romney, GOP Suddenly Plunging Onto Democratic Turf” - Mitt Romney is suddenly plunging into traditionally Democratic-leaning Minnesota and Pennsylvania, and his GOP allies are trying to put Michigan into play. It's forcing President Barack Obama to defend his own turf - he's pouring money into television ads in the states and dispatching top backers - in the campaign's final week.
OHIO: VIDEO: Axelrod Refuses to Say Whether Obama Is Winning with Independents in Ohio:
http://bit.ly/ScsxML
VIRGINIA: Roanoke College Poll: Late deciders push Romney to narrow lead over Obama in Va. -Governor Mitt Romney has overtaken President Barack Obama by a very narrow margin in Virginia
(49% - 44%), according to a Roanoke College Poll conducted after the Presidential debates. Republican George Allen also enjoys a 5 point lead over Democrat Tim Kaine (47% - 42%) in the race for the U.S. Senate seat in Virginia. …
"What a difference a month can make," said Dr. Harry Wilson, director of the Institute for Policy and Opinion Research. "Governor Romney made up a lot of ground during and after the debates. Those likely voters who made their decision during or after the debates favor Romney by 18 percent." "While President Obama's approval rating and favorable rating are largely unchanged from last month, Governor Romney's numbers have improved dramatically. Almost certainly, the debates helped Romney tremendously. This is now a very close race, and the momentum seems to be on Romney's side.”
MICHIGAN: Detroit News Front Page:http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/hr.asp?fpVname=MI_DN&ref_pge=lst
Detroit News: Poll: Romney closes gap on Obama in Michigan - Mitt Romney is within striking distance of Barack Obama in Michigan in the final days before the election, buoyed by more who are convinced the Republican is a viable alternative to the president, with the ability to turn around the economy.
Obama's lead over Romney has shrunk to just under 3 points, 47.7 percent to 45 percent, with 3.8 percent undecided, according to a new Detroit News/WDIV Local 4 poll of likely voters. Obama's lead was 6.7 points earlier this month and has eroded to within the poll's 3.8 percentage point margin of error. It's the smallest advantage for the Democratic president during the Michigan campaign.
…The Obama campaign Tuesday announced its first network TV ads will begin airing this week in Michigan. Neither candidate had bought airtime here, but earlier Tuesday, Romney's super PAC launched a $2.2 million advertising final blitz in Michigan. That brings Restore Our Future's investment in Michigan post-primary up to nearly $10 million, according to the PAC -- which until now had been
unanswered by the Obama campaign.
National Journal: Obama Campaign Launching Ads in Michigan - The Obama campaign is not taking any chances during the final days of the election and is launching ads in seemingly safe Michigan later this week, officials told CNN. This comes after Restore Our Future, a super PAC that supports Mitt Romney, announced a $2.2 million ad buy in the Great Lakes State in the coming days.
“We’re not going to let them make a play anywhere,” an Obama campaign official told CNN. Both Mitt and Ann Romney are natives of Michigan, where Romney's father served as governor, and recent polling suggests a tightening race.
IOWA:CBS News: GOP sees path emerging for Romney win in Iowa
A month ago, as Mitt Romney's campaign appeared to be foundering on just about every front, even allies of the Republican nominee believed his hopes for recovery to be particularly grim here in Iowa. At the time, he was failing to generate much enthusiasm in his western Iowa stronghold, and President Obama's vaunted ground game in the state -- which had launched him toward the Oval Office in 2008 -- was humming along with an efficiency that threatened to put the state out of reach. Particularly concerning for the Romney camp was the extent to which its internal polling showed the challenger getting blown out in Obama's eastern Iowa strongholds of Black Hawk and Linn counties, which encompass the population hubs of Waterloo-Cedar Falls and Cedar Rapids, respectively. Romney did not have to come close to winning in either of those counties, his team had calculated, but in order to have a shot at the Hawkeye State's six electoral votes, he needed a respectable showing in each.
FLORIDA:Tampa Bay Times: Democrats face an early vote hurdle in Fla - The RealClearPolitics polling average now has Mitt Romney leading Obama in Florida by just a single point. The latest Quinnipiac poll showing Obama up a point is sure to draw some scoffs from Republicans since its sample was 37 percent Democrat, 30 percent Republican, and 29 percent independent. "In Florida Democrats now lead in ballots cast just 48 hours after in-person early voting began. In 2008 it took us nearly a week after in-person early voting began before we had a lead," Obama campaign manager Jim Messina says an a state of the race video released today. But a Republican yesterday noted that at this point in 2008, Democrats held a 134,774-vote lead in Florida. As of yesterday.
Democrats led by less than 41,000 – a nearly 70 percent drop. The Obama campaign does not dispute those numbers.
PENNSYLVANIA: The Hill: Poll: Romney cuts Obama lead in Pennsylvania to 4 points - A new poll shows GOP nominee Mitt Romney cutting into President Obama’s lead in Pennsylvania. The latest Franklin & Marshall College poll shows Obama with 49 percent support among likely voters to Romney at 45. Obama enjoyed a 9-point lead in the same poll taken last month. The tight poll numbers come as Romney's campaign has begun buying airtime in the state, releasing an ad Tuesday attacking Obama’s policies on coal mining. The Romney campaign is arguing that the state, which has long backed Democrats in presidential contests may be up for grabs. No Republican candidate, though, has carried Pennsylvania since 1988.
NEW HAMPSHIRE: Nashua Telegraph Editorial: “Mitt Romney For President”- Four years
ago, with little hesitation, we endorsed then-Sen. Barack Obama to become the 44th president of the United States, saying it was a time for “new leadership, a new approach to governing, a new way of conducting the people’s business.” So the basic question facing The Telegraph editorial board when it met last week came down to this: Did the former Illinois senator do enough to live up to those admittedly high expectations to warrant a second term? After several hours of spirited debate, not unlike conversations taking place in kitchens and living rooms across America, we reached a consensus that he had not. Perhaps more importantly, when we identified the key challenges facing the nation – jobs, the economy and the national debt – we concluded he was not the best candidate to meet them. That person is former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, and we hereby endorse him to become the 45th president of the United States.
2012: Messina’s Mistakes. Once Safe Bets For Obama, Battleground States Are Proving "Dicey" For The Campaign http://bit.ly/TmGqGY
