New polls find Obama's edge narrows after lackluster debate performance

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- New poll numbers released on Saturday showed that U.S. President Barack Obama's edge against his Republican challenger Mitt Romney is blunting after he was widely viewed as outperformed by the former Massachusetts governor in the first presidential debate.

A Gallup tracking poll showed that Romney has gained ground with a 46-percent support rate among those interviewed, which puts him just three points behind the incumbent. He was once down by five points.

Meanwhile, Obama's reelection support dropped by one point to 49 percent.

In a separate tracking poll, Rasmussen Reports found Romney now holding a two-point edge over Obama nationally. The president went into the Wednesday debate with a two-point edge over Romney, according to the polling company's previous survey.

Another poll, conducted by the Washington-based Clarus Research Group among 590 likely voters before the debate, found Obama leading Romney 49 percent to 45 percent. A post-debate poll based on an identical number of interviews, however, found that Romney inched ahead by one point and Obama only held a narrow lead of 47 percent to 46 percent.

Though the president was widely believed to have lost his first debate with Romney, his reelection bid got a boost on Friday with the latest jobs report showing the U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 7.8 percent, the lowest level throughout his first term.

The Obama campaign also announced earlier on Saturday that it raised 181 million dollars in September, a new monthly fundraising record for the 2012 race. Enditem

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)