With just over three weeks remaining until the November 6 presidential election, the race between President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has become decisively competitive. Almost two weeks since the first presidential debate support for each candidate among registered and likely voters has wavered, as Obama struggles to maintain his grip ahead of Romney.
In the past week, Gallup's Daily tracking has seen fluctuating poll results among registered and likely voters. Monday's tracking results revealed that the gap between Obama and Romney is a slim two points among both registered and likely voters.
President Obama continues to lead Romney among registered voters, 48 percent to Romney's 46 percent. The margin lead is much smaller than last week's recorded lead of 50 percent to Romney's 45 percent.
On the other hand, Romney continues to maintain his lead against Obama among likely voters, 49 percent to Obama's 47 percent. Romney's lead among likely voters has remained largely unchanged since Thursday.
Monday's Gallup Daily tracking also revealed that Obama's approval rating continues to decline, settling at 48 percent in the past 48 hours. The president's disapproval rating is almost on par with his approval rating at 47 percent.
Romney's strong first performance during the presidential debate in Denver earlier this month is credited with the shift in voter support.
According to recent reports, however, Romney continues to lack support from Latinos, women and black voters, which could prove crucial during the election. While the latest swing state polls have the GOP candidate leading in Florida, he has yet to take over in Colorado and Ohio.
The GOP candidate will have two more chances to improve his ratings among voters during the last two presidential debates. Romney struggled to gain any momentum prior to the first debate, but has seen a continuous surge among both registered and likely voters.
Thursday's vice presidential debate, where Romney's running mate Paul Ryan was named the loser, has yet to have an effect on the polls. While Vice President Joe Biden's strong performance in Kentucky may help the Obama campaign maintain their lead, the vice presidential debate is not known to have a major impact on voters.
The next presidential debate will be held on October 16 at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y. and will discuss foreign and domestic policies in a town hall-style debate. The last presidential debate before the election will be held next week on October 22 at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla.
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