Colorado Goes to Obama
The state of Colorado is projected to go to Obama, giving him nine electoral to add to his projected 290 electoral votes, winning him the reelection bid.
Going into the election Tuesday, the battleground state was projected as a tie after Obama led for majority of time prior to the last two months.
Obama won Colorado 50.3% to Romney’s 47.5%, almost identical to the projected 50% to 46% previously reported. Obama’s strongest upper-hand on Romney was his support from the female and Latino vote, enabling the president to secure the key battleground state on his way to reelection.
Springsteen Plays Virginia for Obama
Musical artist Bruce Springsteen played a free show for a near capacity crowd at Telos Wireless Pavilion on Monday to campaign in Virginia on behalf of President Barack Obama.
Springsteen played for nearly 40 minutes, and while on stage, showed his support for the president by stating, “I am here today because I am thankful for universal healthcare, and I am thankful for a more regulated Wall Street. I’m thankful that General Motors is still building cars.”
Democratic Senate hopeful Timothy M. Kaine also spoke to the crowd about the importance of Virginia as a swing state in the Presidential Election, and also urged the voters to “keep this country moving forward.”
Obama Recaptures Support in Colorado
According to an article by Denver Post reporter Joey Bunch, President Barack Obama gained ground among undecided voters in Colorado after last night’s debate in which he seemingly had the upper-hand.
Obama recaptured ground that was lost in the polls in Colorado as Romney saw his four-point lead diminish. Voting is two weeks away in an election that looks to be one of the tightest in modern era.
Swing States Today: Oct. 23
It will take a few days to determine the true impact of last night’s presidential debate, but former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney clearly had the momentum on his side heading into the contest.
Not only is Romney chopping away at the President Obama’s lead in several key states, he also is pulling ahead of President Obama in some states.
For example, Romney now leads in New Hampshire where the president had been ahead and has knocked five points off of Obama’s lead in Michigan. Romney also maintains a solid lead in North Carolina and is ahead of the president by smaller margins in Florida, the site of last night’s debate, and Colorado, where country music star Rodney Atkins and multi-genre musical star Kid Rock are performing on behalf of the former governor. He also has narrowed the gap in Wisconsin.
Meanwhile, Obama can take solace in a court ruling that will help him in Pennsylvania. He also could receive a boost from early voting in Nevada.
Several other swing states are too close to call and are becoming the true battlegrounds of the race for the White House.
Romney is campaigning heavily in Ohio, and the Obama campaign is blanketing the airwaves in the Buckeye State. Both campaigns also have Iowa and Virginia in their sites.
Romney Ahead in North Carolina
Although the 2012 presidential race between President Barack Obama and GOP nominee Mitt Romney appears to be even across the nation, the same cannot be said about the swing state North Carolina.
According to Real Clear Politics, Obama has been trailing Romney in North Carolina by as many as six points. Romney has held a steady lead over Obama for the entire month of October.
According to telephone voters, Romney has 52 percent of the support in comparison to just 46 percent for Obama. One percent of these voters are undecided. Ironically these voters believe Obama will win the election. Iin 2008, he was the first Democratic presidential candidate to win North Carolina in 30 years.
In a poll conducted by research firm Gravis Marketing, Romney has an 8.7 percent lead over Obama. According to the Latin Times, the presidential poll shows 49.9 percent of voters likely to vote for Romney, while 41.2 percent are likely to vote for the incumbent.
Michigan Leaning Democrat
Polls are showing Michigan leaning toward the Democratic vote this election, though the Real Clear Politics poll shows there has been a significant drop in the past week.
President Obama has fallen from solid 10 point lead to a shaky five point edge. Last week polls showed a spike in Obama’s approval rating while this week it is showing a sharp decline in his ratings with what looks like a long, hard climb back to the top.
This point in 2008 was when Obama looked the strongest in the polls. Mid-October 2008 was when Obama began to break away from McCain in the Michigan polls leading those polls by almost 20 points.
Obama Still Leads in Virginia
Not much has changed recently in the battle between President Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for Virginia’s 13 electoral votes. Polls generally show that it is almost at a deadlock, with Obama still slightly leading the way.
Obama has, however, gained popularity among female voters by 15 percent in a poll conducted by Quinnipiac University.
Iowa Called ‘Eye of the Storm’ in Race for Presidency
During recent rallies in Sioux City and Council Bluffs, Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Paul Ryan asked Iowa voters for their help in winning the election. Ryan told voters that the presidency was within grasp but that he and Mitt Romney would need all of Iowa’s help to win the White House.
“You have a responsibility and an opportunity and an obligation to help us get this country back on the right track so that we look back on this moment as when we reclaimed our freedoms, when we got our jobs back, when we got our economy growing,” said Ryan.
Iowa is a swing state and is often the focal point of elections. In 2008, Obama won the state’s six electoral votes by 10 points. Iowa has voted for a Democrat every year since the 1980s. Obama is currently in the lead in Iowa according to most major polls.
Said Ryan of Obama: “You see, the man we heard four years ago offering hope and change is the very kind of candidate he was then criticizing. He has become what he criticized.”
Musical Stars to Rally for Romney
Country music star Rodney Atkins and multi-genre musical star Kid Rock will performing during a Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan rally at Red Rocks Amphitheatre Tuesday night.
The rally will come less than 24 hours after the third and final presidential debate at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla. It will be one of the largest campaign events for the Romney/Ryan ticket so far in Colorado.
According to RCP Average polls, Romeny is leading by 0.2 percent in Colorado.
Obamas to ‘Celebrate’ 20th Wedding Anniversary at Debate
Today marks an important day for President Barack Obama. It’s his 20th wedding anniversary with Michelle Obama. Unfortunately, rather than celebrating with his wife, Obama will be in Denver, Colo., for the first presidential debate against Mitt Romney.
Tonight’s debate, the first of three, is going to be crucial for both presidential candidates. According to ABC News, the presidential race is statistically tied with Obama at 48 percent and Romney at 45 percent. The debate in Denver could determine which way Colorado, which is one of the critical swing states, will vote.
Typically seen as a Republican state in the past, Colorado voted for Obama in the 2008 presidential election after opting for George W. Bush in 2000 and in 2004. The state is split three ways evenly between Republican voters, Democratic voters, and independent voters.
“They need those independent voters to win. They are trying to appeal to those voters, but have to figure out what is the issue that resonates with them,” E. Scott Adler, a political science professor in Colorado told ABC News.
Tonight’s debate will focus on domestic policy and will be divided into six segments of 15 minutes for each presidential candidate on topics selected by the moderator, who will open each segment with a question. Each candidate will then get two minutes to respond. The remainder of the 15 minutes will be spent in a discussion with the moderator balancing the time.
While Romney has to focus on winning the crowd over after the infamous “47 percent” comments he made in a leaked video, Obama will need to prepare for questions about health care that will be directed towards him.
The debate is slated to start at 8 p.m. and will be televised as well as live-streamed online. The debate moderator will be Jim Lehrer, host of Newshour on PBS. The two other presidential debates for this election will take place Oct. 16 at 9 p.m. at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y. and on Oct. 22, also at 9 p.m., at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla.
— Wesly C. Cadet, Heather M. Monahan, Aime S. Mukendi and Benjamin E. Tryon
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