Presidential Polls Florida: Latest Data Shows Obama, Romney In Dead Heat
Election Day in America has finally arrived, and as has been the case over the last few weeks, the most intense spotlight is on a handful on important swing states that are still too close to call but where the outcome of the election could ultimately be decided.
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 Saturday are Colorado, Florida, New Hampshire North Carolina and Virginia.
Those states represent a total of 70 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 277 electoral votes and Mitt Romney at 191 votes.
Of the swing states still too close to call, Florida is by far the most valuable. The Sunshine State offers a treasure trove of electoral votes - 29, to be exact - to the candidate who can sway Floridian voters and carry the state this evening.
According to The Huffington Post's data analysis, the race in Florida is completely deadlocked at this point. Obama and Romney are tied, with each candidate polling at 48 percent in the Sunshine State.
But the race is not as tight based on the latest data from national polling firm Rasmussen.
In that poll, Romney is ahead of Obama, with the Republican nominee enjoying support from 50 percent of Florida voters surveyed. Obama lags behind by two percentage points with 48 percent. Of the remaining respondents included in the survey, 1 percent is still undecided about how they will cast their ballot on Nov. 6.
Rasmussen's data also shed light on how Floridian voters feel about the candidates in relation to the biggest issue of the election, the American economy.
"Forty-eight percent of voters in the state expect the U.S. economy to get better if Romney is elected president and Republicans win control of Congress," the report said. "That compares to 39 percent who feel that way if Obama is reelected and Democrats regain control of Congress. Forty-four percent expect the economy to get worse if Obama wins, compared to 38 percent who believe that's true if Romney's the winner."
