Presidential Poll 2012: Romney, Obama Tied In Race For White House
The consensus following the first presidential debate last week was that Mitt Romney came out on top, and now that victory has shown up in national poll numbers.
Romney has closed the gap between himself and President Barack Obama in the polls, leaving the two candidates in a dead heat at the election is just less than one month away, according to a report from Reuters.
A daily tracking poll released Tuesday from Reuters and Ispos show Romney and Obama tied at 45 percent of the vote each with just four weeks before Election Day on Nov. 6.
Cliff Young, a pollster for Ispos, said the results show that Romney gained ground in the race and favor among Americans after his performance at the first of three presidential debates on Oct. 3.
"It's a much tighter race and Romney became much more presidential in people's eyes," Young said. "Things are probably back to where they should be."
The poll surveyed 1,157 likely voters over a over a five-day period, and the results have a margin of error of about 3.3 percentage points. In a larger sampling of 1,370 potential voters, Obama maintained a slight lead with 45 percent to Romney's 42 percent.
Obama had been leading the race before the debate. As of Sunday, he was ahead with 45 percent of the vote to Romney's 42 percent.
Romney is tracking ahead of Obama in Real Clear Politics' average of several nationwide polls. That data gives Romney a 0.7 point lead with 48 percent to Obama's 47.3 percent.
Some experts said Obama fell victim to the "incumbent curse" that has plagued other presidents campaigning for a second term.
"Like many of his predecessors, President Obama fell victim [during the presidential debate] to high expectations, a short fuse and a hungry challenger," National Journal columnist Ron Fournier wrote immediately following the debate's conclusion.
