Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney leads by 3 points in Thursday’s edition of the ABC News/Washington Post national tracking poll. Romney gets 50 percent to President Obama’s 47 percent, a move upwards in their numbers for Romney, who led 49 percent to Obama’s 48 percent on Wednesday. From ABC News pollster Gary Langer:
Romney’s gains are clear especially in results on the economy. This poll, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates, finds that likely voters now pick Romney over Obama in trust to handle the economy by 52-43 percent – the first time either candidate has held a clear lead over the other on this central issue.
Equally important, Romney has erased Obama’s customary advantage on which candidate better understands the economic problems of average Americans. Today, 48 percent pick Obama, 46 percent Romney – essentially a dead heat. Yesterday and today mark the first time in the campaign that Obama hasn’t had at least a marginally significant lead on economic empathy.
