President Obama has a small lead over Republican candidate Mitt Romney in North Carolina, one of the most hotly contested states in the presidential election, according to a new poll. Obama gets 49 percent of likely voters to Romney’s 47 percent in numbers from pollster SurveyUSA and commissioned by TV station WRAL. From their report:
As in 2008, Democrats hold a sizable edge among early voters, but the GOP is making a concerted effort not to fall too far behind before Election Day. Conservative groups have pushed for absentee votes and plan get-out-the-vote efforts once early voting starts in a couple of weeks.
According to the poll, Obama has a 20-point lead among people who plan to cast early ballots. They accounted for 43 percent of those surveyed. Romney holds a 53 to 41 percent lead among those planning to vote on Election Day – 48 percent of those surveyed – and a 58 to 39 percent lead among the small number of people who will cast absentee ballots.
The PollTracker Average of the race in North Carolina shows the president with a 0.2 percent lead.
