Latest Swing State Polls 2012 - North Carolina: Romney Support Increases Outside Margin of Error; Electoral College Impact

Next to Ohio, North Carolina is another swing state the presidential candidates are keeping an eye on.

President Barack Obama narrowly won North Carolina's Electoral College votes during the 2008 presidential election by 0.3 percent - 49.4 percent to 49.7 percent - against Arizona Senator John McCain.

Polling figures in the state have slowly seen Romney losing numbers to even tying Obama in a Public Policy Polling and Elon University polls, but three newer polls have shown the former Massachusetts governor back in the lead.

The Gravis Marketing poll shows Romney leading outside of the margin of error with eight percentage points and a margin of error of 2.4 percent.

Romney received 53 percent of the poll compared to Obama's 45 percent. The Gravis poll was conducted on Oct. 24 with 1,723 likely voters.

The lead continues for Romney in a Rasmussen Reports poll on Oct. 25 with 500 likely voters. The Republican candidate received 52 percent to Obama's 46 percent, however, the margin of error increased to 4.5 percent.

SurveyUSA's poll also shows Romney leading, but down compared to the previous two polls.

Polling 682 likely voters, 50 percent showed support for Romney but Obama is only five percent behind at 45 percent. Another five percent reported as undecided or voting for a third party candidate.

The polling numbers is still good news for Romney as the previous SurveyUSA poll showed Romney trailing Obama with 49 percent to 47 percent.

SurveyUSA noted, "Obama leads among those who have already voted, by mail or in person, but among voters who plan to vote on Election Day, Romney leads 2:1. All of Romney's advantage comes from men, where he leads by 9 points. The contest is tied among women."

According to Real Clear Politics (RCP), based on polling averages, Obama will lose North Carolina to Romney on Election Day and the former governor will win the state's 15 votes from the Electoral College. However, RCP does categorize it as a "toss up" state and could go for either candidate.

Prior to Obama's victory in North Carolina in 2008, the last time a democratic presidential candidate won the state was in 1976 when Jimmy Carter won against Gerald Ford, then winning their 13 Electoral College votes.