By Oscar Tollast
A new poll has shown President Barack Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney remain deadlocked among voters in Florida.
The poll – conducted by NBC/WSJ/Marist – shows Obama with 49 percent of support, whilst Romney has 47 percent of likely voters behind him.
Although the President appears to have a small advantage, this poll has a margin of error of either plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.
A previous poll taken in October saw Obama on 48% with Romney on 47%.
Florida is a must-win state for Romney’s team, consisting of 29 electoral votes. Even if Obama lost every other battleground state – on the basis of current polls – a Romney loss in Florida would see Obama pass the 270 electoral votes threshold.
The President appears to be benefitting from early voters, with 63% of people spoken to saying they have already voted or plan to do so before Tuesday. More than half of that percentage (53%) are voting for Obama.
Nevertheless, Romney is in the lead among Election Day voters in Florida by 52% to 40%.
Both states are two of the biggest prizes in Tuesday’s presidential contest. An Obama victory in Ohio, which awards 18 electoral votes, would put him tantalizingly close to getting to the 270 electoral votes needed to win a second term.
Meanwhile, a poll by the same organisations found Obama still holds a six-point lead over Romney among voters in Ohio, 51% to 45% – another key swing state that awards 18 electoral votes for the winner.