General

Polls show Romney ahead, Powell endorses Obama in tight race

In the final campaign push before the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 6, new polls show Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney slightly ahead in a close race, just as President Barack Obama picks up a key endorsement.

An Associated Press-GfK poll released Thursday showed Romney ahead and that a gender gap, where women had shown more support for Obama, was closing.

According to the poll, 47 percent of voters were likely to choose Romney and 45 per cent said they would choose Obama. The poll also showed that Obama’s former 16-point lead with female voters was gone, with a 47-47 per cent tie between men and women. Romney’s 13-point advantage with men has also shrunk to just five points, the poll showed.

However, the results of the poll are so close that the split is “within the margin of error,” notes AP.

Another poll, conducted two days earlier for The Washington Post and ABC News also showed a tightening race, with Romney at 49 per cent and Obama at 48.

While recent polls give Romney a slight edge, Obama picked up an important re-endorsement from former Republican secretary of state Colin Powell Thursday morning.

Speaking on CBS This Morning, Powell said he was supporting Obama again, after breaking rank with the Republican party in 2008 and endorsing him. “I voted for him in 2008 and I plan to stick with him in 2012 and I’ll be voting for he and for Vice-President Joe Biden next month,” Powell said.

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