The daily Gallup tracking poll has been suspended due to Hurricane Sandy, but we've got several national polls to look at in the meantime.
With the limited data we have available, it looks like Republican challenger Mitt Romney's lead in the national polls is shrinking.
A Rasmussen poll released today still shows Romney ahead by 2 points over President Obama, 49 percent to 47 percent.
But both a Fox News poll and an ABC News/Washington Post poll show the presidential race tied, at 46 percent and 49 percent respectively.
And a National Journal poll has Obama leading by a whole 5 points, 50 percent to 45 percent. We don't usually see margins that large except in the Gallup poll.
Two polls from Tuesday also seem to cancel each other out. An NPR poll has Romney up by a point, but a CBS News/New York Times poll gives the leas to Obama by the same margin.
As in the swing state polls, a tie is good news for Obama and bad news for Romney.
Romney has been leading in most national polls since the week after the first presidential debate. If Obama is finally pulling even again, he may have a better chance to take both the Electoral College and the popular vote.
While the popular vote doesn't directly influence the outcome of the election, it does affect how voters view the election's legitimacy and what kind of mandate the victor can claim come January.
I would guess that Obama's decision to suspend his campaign in favor of coordinating hurricane responses has had a positive impact on his poll numbers.
Romney was in a bit of a Catch-22, as he risked seeming opportunistic if he continued campaigning while the president was busy. But as he is not currently an elected official, he has no real reason to be involved in the hurricane response.
While much of the country is unaffected by the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, there has been plenty of coverage of Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's effusive praise of the president's storm response.
One of the chief complaints about Obama from swing voters was his perceived inability to work across the aisle and build bipartisan consensus.
While more attentive voters might blame gridlock on Republican intractability in the wake of Obama's election four years ago, all many viewers see is a slow economic recovery.
One of Romney's main points of attack against Obama may have been negated by a natural disaster.
Related Stories
>> Latest Electoral College Map 2012: In Ohio We Trust; Do the Other States Matter?
>> Presidential Election 2012: How Will Hurricane Sandy Affect the Electoral College Count?
>> Obama and Romney Suspend Campaigns During Hurricane Sandy, How Does the Storm Affect the Election Next Week? (Video)
>> Presidential Polls 2012: Gallup, Rasmussen National Polls Mixed, Will Hurricane Sandy Affect the Election?
- Contribute to this Story:
- Send us a tip
- Send us a photo or video
- Suggest a correction
