Presidential Polls Ohio: Buckeye State Remains Hotly Contested; Obama, Romney Virtually Tied
Attention on presidential swing states has only intensified as Election Day creeps closer, and with just six days until the country's next president is chosen, the intense curiosity on battleground states has reached a fever pitch.
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, the five states still in the toss up pile as of Wednesday are 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.
Perhaps the most talked about swing state this election cycle has been Ohio, which many pundits have called a must-win state for either candidate to claim the presidency on Nov. 6. The Buckeye State offers 18 electoral votes to whichever candidate can carry the state on Election Night.
According to The Huffington Post's data analysis, Obama is slightly ahead in Ohio, but just by a hair. The president is currently polling there at 48 percent, while Republican nominee Mitt Romney lags behind by two percentage points at 46 percent.
Data from national polling firm Rasmussen tells a slightly different story.
In that poll, Romney is ahead with support from 50 percent of voters surveyed in Ohio, while Obama has support from 48 percent. Of the remaining respondents included in the poll, 1 percent of voters plan to vote for a different candidate, and another 1 percent are still undecided about how they will cast their vote on Nov. 6.
The race in Ohio has been among the most hotly contested this election cycle.
"The candidates have been locked in a very tight battle in Ohio since August," the Rasmussen report said. "A week ago, Romney and Obama were tied in the Buckeye State with 48 percent support each. This is the first time Romney has taken even a modest lead in the race."
