Swing State Polls 2012: Florida Still A Toss-Up; Romney Leads Slightly
With exactly one week to go before Election Day on Nov. 6, the most intense spotlight is on a handful of swing states that are still too close to call and that could ultimately decide the next president of the United States.
According to The Huffington Post's Electoral College map projection, which is based on an analysis of various nationwide and state by state polling data, shows five states in the toss up pile as of Tuesday: Colorado, Florida, New Hampshire, Ohio and Virginia.
Those states represent a total of 73 electoral votes — a hefty sum considering each candidate needs a total of 270 electoral votes to successfully win the election. That sum would be incredibly valuable to either candidate, based on The Huffington Post's current projection, which has President Barack Obama at 259 electoral votes and Mitt Romney at 206 votes.
The most valuable state still in the toss up category is Florida, which offers 29 electoral votes to whichever candidate carries the state on Nov. 6. According to The Huffington Post's data, the candidates are in a dead heat in Florida, with each of them polling at 48 percent.
The race in Florida is less deadlocked according to data from national polling firm Rasmussen. That poll shows Romney ahead in Florida by two percentage points. The GOP nominee has support from 50 percent of registered voters surveyed, while Obama lags behind with support from 48 percent. One percent of voters included in the poll are still undecided about how they will cast their vote one week from now.
The race is Florida has been quite close for the entire race, though Romney has enjoyed a consistent lead as of late.
"Last week, Romney held his biggest lead — 51 percent to 46 percent — of the year so far in Florida," the Rasmussen report said. "The week before, Romney held a slightly narrower 51 percent to 47 percent advantage. Prior to that time, the candidates have been within two points of each other in Florida in every survey since April."
