Electoral College Map 2012: Obama Within Margin of Victory, Romney Lags Behind
After months of diehard campaigning around the nation, only one day remains in the 2012 presidential election, and all eyes have turned to the Electoral College map, which will ultimately decide who sits in the White House for the next four years.
Republican nominee Mitt Romney has been ahead in most nationwide polls over the last few weeks, but forecasts for how the electoral map will take shape on Election Day show President Barack Obama within striking distance of a second term in the Oval Office.
A candidate needs 270 or more electoral votes to win the election. The Huffington Post's Electoral College map projection, which is based on analysis of various nationwide and state by state polls, shows that a total of 277 electoral votes are leaning toward going Obama's way on Election Day - enough for him to win another four years as president of the United States.
CLICK HERE to check out The Huffington Post's electoral projections along with its interactive map.
Obama's GOP challenger Romney lags behind by 86 votes with a total of 191 electoral votes expected to go Republican on Nov. 6.
Obama's standing on the electoral map took a small dive last week before rising yet again to his current peak. On Oct. 29, Obama was sitting pretty at 277 electoral votes in The Huffington Post's projection, but by Oct. 31 the forecast had changed, at only 259 electoral votes were strong enough to securely call for Obama. But the president has since returned to the height of his lead with 277 votes.
Another number that has fluctuated throughout the last several days is the count of toss-up electoral votes in swing states. That number reached its peak last week, when a total of 88 electoral votes were too close to call. Today, The Huffington Post's data shows 70 votes in the toss-up pile.
The Huffington Post's data breaks down the states and their respective electoral votes as follows:
-Strong Obama: 237 electoral votes
-Leans Obama: 40 electoral votes
-Toss Up: 70 electoral votes
-Leans Romney: 0 electoral votes
-Strong Romney: 191 electoral votes
Obama's lead is not as wide in the Electoral College projection from national polling firm Rasmussen. That data has Obama at 237 electoral votes and Romney at 206, with a total of 95 electoral votes still too close to call.
