Obama, Romney set for photo-finish in presidential election

Washington, 05 Nov 2012 (PTI): The gruelling race to the White House between President Barack Obama and his rival Mitt Romney entered the final sprint as they made a last minute bid to win over undecided voters in key swing states ahead of tomorrow’s presidential election, expected to be a photo-finish.

 

The battle for the presidency has narrowed to 10 swing states, with Obama and Romney engaging in last ditch efforts to break into each others’ votebanks and latest opinion polls indicating that the race for the world’s most powerful job is tied.

 

A new CNN poll showed 49 per cent support for Democrat Obama and 49 per cent for Republican Romney.

 

A Politico/George Washington University survey has it tied at 48 per cent; an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll indicates Obama at 48 per cent and Romney at 47 per cent; and the latest ABC News/Washington Post tracking poll puts Obama at 49 per cent and Romney at 48 per cent.

 

Obama’s strategy on the final day was to cement his last line of defence in the crucial industrial mid west and attempt to pluck away several insurance states from Romney target list.

 

65-year-old Romney, who started as an underdog but grew into a formidable opponent, dashed through Iowa and Ohio, trying to break into the Democrat citadels, telling voters that Obama’s record, particularly on the economy, did not warrant a return to the White House.

 

Obama, 51, wrapped up his campaign today at a community college in Colorado.

 

Obama painted tomorrow’s vote as a choice between policies that have moved the country out of the depths of recession and ones that got it into one in the first place.

 

With the election just a day away, campaigning ended today, bringing down the curtain on several months of high voltage exchange of words between the two candidates, that often turned bitter and nasty.