Photo: Pete Souza/White House
President Barack Obama speaks to the crowd during his visit to Ghana in July 11, 2009.
Early votings have taken place in some states in the United States of America and the interest of the people is on the crucial swing states. Leadership’s US Bureau Chief, ABIODUN OLUWAROTIMI, who is going round to cover the election writes on the snapshot in the crucial swing States.
United States President, Mr. Barrack Obama and his opponent, Governor Mitt Romney enter Election Day in a statistical tie, according to most national polls, with the race for the White House coming down to a handful of swing states.
Ohio is the top prize, as winning the election without that state’s 18 electoral votes will be difficult for either candidate, but it is closely followed by Florida, Virginia, Wisconsin, Iowa, Colorado and New Hampshire.
An eighth state, Pennsylvania, has emerged late as a possible game-changer in the contest. Though no Republican presidential candidate has won the state since 1988, polls show a tight race and Romney’s campaign will travel there on Election Day hoping it can be delivered to the GOP.
Obama’s campaign hopes an early-voting effort has built up a big enough lead that it will be impossible for Romney to overtake the president on Election Day.
Republicans note Obama’s advantage is much diminished from four years ago; they also argue polls forecast too high a proportion of Democrats in the electorate.
Here’s a snapshot of the race on the election’s eve, state by state:
OHIO
Obama has been ahead or tied in every poll in Ohio except one on October 28, according to the RealClearPolitics (RCP) website.
Going back even further, 29 polls since October 1 have had Obama in the lead, compared to four polls that showed Romney with a lead and six polls that found a tie.
All of this suggests it will be difficult for Romney to pull Ohio from Obama’s grasp.
About 30 percent of the state’s likely voters have already cast ballots, but because the state does not register voters by party, the statistics are difficult to quantify.