Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney who now holds narrow advantage after the first presidential debate has erased the lead for the first time in months against US President Barack Obama, a latest opinion poll said.
Fox News in its latest post-debate poll which was released on Wednesday said that Romney now holds a narrow advantage over Mr Obama — 46 per cent to 45 per cent, if the election were held today. This is a six-point turnaround and a three-point “debate bounce” for Mr Romney.
Before the first presidential debate in Denver last Wednesday, Mr Romney had 43 per cent to Mr Obama’s 48 per cent, Fox News said.
However, all the polls indicates that Obama-Romney race is too close to call and results of almost all polls in last few days come within the statistical error; thus leading to a virtual tie.
According to Real Clear Politics, which keeps a track of all major national polls said that Mr Romney now leads nationally by 1.5 points against Mr Obama if the average of all those polls is taken.
The Wall Street Journal said Mr Romney is “inched ahead” of Mr Obama in this bench mark developed by Real Clear Politics.
On Wednesday evening, Mr Romney was ahead 47.6 per cent to 46.1 per cent.
The Fox News said Mr Romney’s edge comes mainly from independents, white voters and men. Just over half of men (51 per cent) back Mr Romney now, the highest level of support he’s received among this group.
“The poll shows independents side with Romney by 44-32 per cent. That’s a reversal from before the debate when it was 43-39 in Obama’s favor. One independent in four is undecided or will vote for another candidate,” it said.
