[h=3]By NEIL KING JR.[/h]A late surge in support for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has put him in a dead heat with President Barack Obama with just over two weeks to go before the election, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released Sunday.
Among likely voters, the candidates are now tied, 47% to 47%, in a race that appears on track to be one of the closest in U.S. history.
Mr. Romney has pulled abreast of the president for the first time all year in the Journal poll, erasing a three-point lead among likely voters that Mr. Obama had in late September and a five-point lead earlier that month. Mr. Romney's surge followed his strong debate performance in Denver early this month and a contentious second debate with Mr. Obama last week.
With the contest deadlocked and just 5% of voters undecided, the campaigns will now turn heavily to state-by-state efforts to rouse their base and get out the vote.
The poll found Mr. Romney with a wide lead among men, 53% to 43%, while Mr. Obama continues to maintain an advantage among women, 51% to 43%. Mr. Romney's edge among men has grown over the past month, while Mr. Obama's lead among women has slightly diminished.
The poll of 816 likely voters was taken Oct. 17-20, after last week's presidential debate in New York. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.43 percentage points for likely voters.
Among the full sample of 1,000 registered voters, Mr. Obama led Mr. Romney, 49% to 44%, down from a seven-point edge he had among registered voters in late September. The margin of error for that sample was 3.1 percentage points.
The race becomes a dead heat when weighing only those considered likely to vote in the election. Mr. Obama's edge among registered voters, which has also cropped up in many polls of battleground states, points to the challenge his campaign faces in converting supporters into actual voters between now and Nov. 6.
Among likely voters, the candidates are now tied, 47% to 47%, in a race that appears on track to be one of the closest in U.S. history.
Mr. Romney has pulled abreast of the president for the first time all year in the Journal poll, erasing a three-point lead among likely voters that Mr. Obama had in late September and a five-point lead earlier that month. Mr. Romney's surge followed his strong debate performance in Denver early this month and a contentious second debate with Mr. Obama last week.
With the contest deadlocked and just 5% of voters undecided, the campaigns will now turn heavily to state-by-state efforts to rouse their base and get out the vote.
The poll found Mr. Romney with a wide lead among men, 53% to 43%, while Mr. Obama continues to maintain an advantage among women, 51% to 43%. Mr. Romney's edge among men has grown over the past month, while Mr. Obama's lead among women has slightly diminished.
The poll of 816 likely voters was taken Oct. 17-20, after last week's presidential debate in New York. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.43 percentage points for likely voters.
Among the full sample of 1,000 registered voters, Mr. Obama led Mr. Romney, 49% to 44%, down from a seven-point edge he had among registered voters in late September. The margin of error for that sample was 3.1 percentage points.
The race becomes a dead heat when weighing only those considered likely to vote in the election. Mr. Obama's edge among registered voters, which has also cropped up in many polls of battleground states, points to the challenge his campaign faces in converting supporters into actual voters between now and Nov. 6.