Six new polls in crucial swing states show President Obama holding on to his lead in most of them, but Mitt Romney is gaining ground.
The swing states are the key to winning the Electoral College, and the presidency. While Romney has made great strides this week in national polls, if he is unable to best Obama in enough swing states, his newfound nationwide popularity will be for nothing.
NBC News/Marist conducted polls released Thursday in the swing states of Virginia, Florida and Ohio. In Virginia, Romney took the lead, jumping three points since before the first presidential debate. He is up 1 point over Obama, 48 percent to 47 percent.
In Florida, Obama holds onto his tiny lead, 48-47 percent over Romney, unchanged from last week. Florida was expected to tip toward Romney this week, but that shift never materialized. While popular Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio stumps for Romney, a large contingent of Latino voters in that state is still loyal to the president.
Romney gained 2 points in Ohio but still trails Obama by 6 points, 51 percent to 45 percent. No Republican has ever won the presidency without winning Ohio, and if Romney does not, it makes his task much more difficult, as he'll need to carry different, more difficult swing states to get the votes he needs in the Electoral College.
The CBS News/New York Times/Quinnipiac University polls were conducted in two different swing states: Colorado and Wisconsin, as well as Virginia.
Contrary to the NBC poll, CBS has Romney down 1 point in Virginia, and 5 points below Obama. Romney gained 2 points in Colorado, taking the lead from Obama with a very narrow margin, 48 percent to 47 percent.
In Wisconsin, Romney gains 2 points as well, but still trails Obama by 3 points, 50-47 percent.
In New Hampshire, a Rasmussen poll has Obama up by 4.5 percent, but that's down from a 7-point lead he had earlier this year.
Is this just the beginning of a swing state upset for Romney?
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