President Obama scored better on the economy today than Mitt Romney probably would have liked, according to preliminary results from a national exit poll of voters just released.
The preliminary results show that more voters say the economy is getting better rather than getting worse by a rate of 38 to 32 percent.
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And four years after Obama was elected, more voters -- 51 percent -- still blame George W. Bush for the weak economy rather than Obama. The exit polls found that 40 percent of voters blamed Obama for the state of the economy.
Voting booths are still open across the country, and the first wave of them, including the battleground state of Virginia, will close at 7 p.m.
But the national exit poll indicates that Obama ended the campaign on a higher note on several counts. For instance, Obama beat Romney 52 to 44 percent on the question of who is more in touch with the public.
Andrew Link/Winona Daily News/AP Photo
Voters fill the booths voting Nov. 6, 2012,... View Full Size
But Romney is winning early on a key question in the exit poll: Who can better handle the economy? He scored 50 percent to Obama's 47 percent there.
More than half of voters said Romney's policies would benefit the rich, while 43 percent said Obama's policies favor the middle class.
Those national results are reflected in two key states, Ohio and Virginia. It is widely thought that if Obama wins both of those states, Romney's chances of winning the election are tiny.
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First, Ohio: voters widely approved of the auto bailout, 59 to 36 percent, according to preliminary results. The bailout was one of Obama's loudest battle cries in the Midwest, most likely because an op-ed Romney wrote called "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt" handicapped him among blue-collar voters. Also in the Buckeye State, more voters said Obama favored the middle class than Romney did, and the president won the "who is more in touch" contest as well.
Romney, however, pulled even with Obama in Ohio on who is better to handle the economy.
In Virginia, which Obama painted blue in 2008 for the first time in decades, more voters say the economy is getting better than getting worse, though Romney beat Obama by 8 points on who would handle the economy best.
Other questions in Virginia were pretty close. Voters divided in their view of the Obama administration, 51 percent positive and 48 percent negative. Fifty percent blamed Bush for the bad economy; 46 percent blamed Obama.
The preliminary results show that more voters say the economy is getting better rather than getting worse by a rate of 38 to 32 percent.
CLICK HERE for Election Day live updates
And four years after Obama was elected, more voters -- 51 percent -- still blame George W. Bush for the weak economy rather than Obama. The exit polls found that 40 percent of voters blamed Obama for the state of the economy.
Voting booths are still open across the country, and the first wave of them, including the battleground state of Virginia, will close at 7 p.m.
But the national exit poll indicates that Obama ended the campaign on a higher note on several counts. For instance, Obama beat Romney 52 to 44 percent on the question of who is more in touch with the public.
Andrew Link/Winona Daily News/AP Photo
Voters fill the booths voting Nov. 6, 2012,... View Full Size
But Romney is winning early on a key question in the exit poll: Who can better handle the economy? He scored 50 percent to Obama's 47 percent there.
More than half of voters said Romney's policies would benefit the rich, while 43 percent said Obama's policies favor the middle class.
Those national results are reflected in two key states, Ohio and Virginia. It is widely thought that if Obama wins both of those states, Romney's chances of winning the election are tiny.
Tune in to ABCNews.com for livestreaming coverage of Election 2012
First, Ohio: voters widely approved of the auto bailout, 59 to 36 percent, according to preliminary results. The bailout was one of Obama's loudest battle cries in the Midwest, most likely because an op-ed Romney wrote called "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt" handicapped him among blue-collar voters. Also in the Buckeye State, more voters said Obama favored the middle class than Romney did, and the president won the "who is more in touch" contest as well.
Romney, however, pulled even with Obama in Ohio on who is better to handle the economy.
In Virginia, which Obama painted blue in 2008 for the first time in decades, more voters say the economy is getting better than getting worse, though Romney beat Obama by 8 points on who would handle the economy best.
Other questions in Virginia were pretty close. Voters divided in their view of the Obama administration, 51 percent positive and 48 percent negative. Fifty percent blamed Bush for the bad economy; 46 percent blamed Obama.