[h=3]By PETER NICHOLAS[/h] President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney are running neck-and-neck in Colorado and Nevada, showing that both candidates still have a path to victory in the Electoral College that runs through the West, new Wall Street Journal/NBC News/Marist Poll surveys show.
REUTERS U.S. Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney greets audience members at a campaign stop on Thursday.
The surveys released Thursday found that Mr. Romney had gained ground in Colorado over the past month, moving from a five-point deficit in mid-September to a tie, with each candidate drawing 48% support among likely voters.
In Nevada, Mr. Obama outpolled his Republican opponent among likely voters, 50% to 47%, a lead within the survey's margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points. In a late-September Journal survey, Mr. Obama had led by about the same margin, 49% to 47%.
"Right now, Colorado is a coin toss, and the [Obama] edge in Nevada is slight," said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, which conducted the polls. Mr. Obama won both states in 2008.
Neither state is among the largest battlegrounds, but they are drawing increasing attention in light of the close nature of the battle in Ohio, the second-largest swing state. Should either candidate lose Ohio, winning in Colorado and Nevada would become crucial to his efforts to make up the lost votes.
Nearly all scenarios require Mr. Romney to carry Florida, the nation's largest swing state, in order to build an Electoral College majority; that isn't true of Mr. Obama, who has several ways to assemble a majority without Florida.
The new surveys, taken after last Monday's third and final presidential debate, show that Mr. Romney has gone a long way toward repairing what had been a battered image. In both states, a slim plurality of people said they had a favorable impression of Mr. Romney, rather than an unfavorable one.
That was a reversal from the prior surveys, in which more people in both Colorado and Nevada had said they viewed Mr. Romney unfavorably than favorably. Mr. Romney had faced a particular challenge in Colorado, where 50% of poll respondents had viewed him unfavorably and 43% viewed him favorably only five weeks ago.
Mr. Miringoff said the Republican nominee had closed the gap with the president in Colorado by gaining support among women and independent voters. In both states, Mr. Romney holds a slight, three-point edge when voters are asked which candidate would do a better job of boosting the economy.
Mr. Obama was viewed favorably in both states by just more than half of voters. In Colorado, 51% viewed him favorably and 46% unfavorably. In Nevada, 52% viewed him favorably and 44% unfavorably.
A strong plurality of voters in both states believed Mr. Obama won the third presidential debate, which took place Oct. 22. But the debate didn't sway many votes, the polls found, as some 95% or more of likely voters in the two states said they had settled on a candidate beforehand.
The surveys in some ways mirror nationwide trends. Mr. Romney has been narrowing Mr. Obama's lead among women voters, while Mr. Obama is being propelled by strong support among Hispanics.
In Nevada, 52% of likely women voters supported the president, compared with 46% who favored Mr. Romney. Last month, Mr. Obama enjoyed a 16-point lead over Mr. Romney among women in the state.
Mr. Romney has struggled to attract Latino voters, having taken a tough stand against illegal immigration during the GOP primaries. In Colorado, the president leads among Latino voters, 63% to 34%, a margin larger than he built in the state in his 2008 race against Republican Sen. John McCain. In Nevada, the president is winning Latino voters, 74% to 23%.
The Nevada poll also looked at one of the nation's most closely contested Senate races. Incumbent Republican Sen. Dean Heller was favored by 48% of likely voters, compared with 45% for Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley, the survey found.
In one noteworthy finding, the Colorado survey showed that Mr. Romney was leading in the suburbs surrounding Denver, 51% to 46%. Those suburbs are a continual battleground in presidential elections—and an important one, as about half the U.S. population lives in suburbs.
Mr. Obama carried a majority of voters in Denver's suburbs in the September survey, 51% to 44%. Since then, Mr. Romney's small lead among men in Denver's suburbs has grown to double digits, while Mr. Obama's double-digit lead among women has all but disappeared.
Write to Peter Nicholas at [email protected]
REUTERS U.S. Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney greets audience members at a campaign stop on Thursday.
The surveys released Thursday found that Mr. Romney had gained ground in Colorado over the past month, moving from a five-point deficit in mid-September to a tie, with each candidate drawing 48% support among likely voters.
In Nevada, Mr. Obama outpolled his Republican opponent among likely voters, 50% to 47%, a lead within the survey's margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points. In a late-September Journal survey, Mr. Obama had led by about the same margin, 49% to 47%.
"Right now, Colorado is a coin toss, and the [Obama] edge in Nevada is slight," said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, which conducted the polls. Mr. Obama won both states in 2008.
Neither state is among the largest battlegrounds, but they are drawing increasing attention in light of the close nature of the battle in Ohio, the second-largest swing state. Should either candidate lose Ohio, winning in Colorado and Nevada would become crucial to his efforts to make up the lost votes.
Nearly all scenarios require Mr. Romney to carry Florida, the nation's largest swing state, in order to build an Electoral College majority; that isn't true of Mr. Obama, who has several ways to assemble a majority without Florida.
The new surveys, taken after last Monday's third and final presidential debate, show that Mr. Romney has gone a long way toward repairing what had been a battered image. In both states, a slim plurality of people said they had a favorable impression of Mr. Romney, rather than an unfavorable one.
That was a reversal from the prior surveys, in which more people in both Colorado and Nevada had said they viewed Mr. Romney unfavorably than favorably. Mr. Romney had faced a particular challenge in Colorado, where 50% of poll respondents had viewed him unfavorably and 43% viewed him favorably only five weeks ago.
Mr. Miringoff said the Republican nominee had closed the gap with the president in Colorado by gaining support among women and independent voters. In both states, Mr. Romney holds a slight, three-point edge when voters are asked which candidate would do a better job of boosting the economy.
Mr. Obama was viewed favorably in both states by just more than half of voters. In Colorado, 51% viewed him favorably and 46% unfavorably. In Nevada, 52% viewed him favorably and 44% unfavorably.
A strong plurality of voters in both states believed Mr. Obama won the third presidential debate, which took place Oct. 22. But the debate didn't sway many votes, the polls found, as some 95% or more of likely voters in the two states said they had settled on a candidate beforehand.
The surveys in some ways mirror nationwide trends. Mr. Romney has been narrowing Mr. Obama's lead among women voters, while Mr. Obama is being propelled by strong support among Hispanics.
In Nevada, 52% of likely women voters supported the president, compared with 46% who favored Mr. Romney. Last month, Mr. Obama enjoyed a 16-point lead over Mr. Romney among women in the state.
Mr. Romney has struggled to attract Latino voters, having taken a tough stand against illegal immigration during the GOP primaries. In Colorado, the president leads among Latino voters, 63% to 34%, a margin larger than he built in the state in his 2008 race against Republican Sen. John McCain. In Nevada, the president is winning Latino voters, 74% to 23%.
The Nevada poll also looked at one of the nation's most closely contested Senate races. Incumbent Republican Sen. Dean Heller was favored by 48% of likely voters, compared with 45% for Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley, the survey found.
In one noteworthy finding, the Colorado survey showed that Mr. Romney was leading in the suburbs surrounding Denver, 51% to 46%. Those suburbs are a continual battleground in presidential elections—and an important one, as about half the U.S. population lives in suburbs.
Mr. Obama carried a majority of voters in Denver's suburbs in the September survey, 51% to 44%. Since then, Mr. Romney's small lead among men in Denver's suburbs has grown to double digits, while Mr. Obama's double-digit lead among women has all but disappeared.
Write to Peter Nicholas at [email protected]