NBC/Marist is out with two new polls show Mitt Romney in a tough position going into election day. Read More

I can report that power went back on in much of Lower Manhattan between 5 and 6 this evening. The news reports I’ve seen suggest it’s back up in most but not all of Lower Manhattan and in various parts of Brooklyn and Staten Island. I can only report first-hand that it’s back on in the Chelsea neighborhood where TPM’s New York office is, as well as my apartment a few blocks away.

Going into the weekend things are looking good for Barack Obama. Not terribly different than they looked mid-week or a week ago. But there are a slew of polls which show either a confirmation of his relatively strong position in key states or the slightest move in his direction. And with that we’re starting to see the first take from those who’ve spent the last weeks either unskewing the polls or flagging the Romney-mentum. Read More

Dick Morris now sees possible bumps on the way to the 400+ EV Romney landslide.

TPM 2012 campaign reporter Evan McMorris-Santoro is holding a Live Chat right now about all things campaign 2012. Get your questions in now.

Today’s brand spanking new poll charts in all the big races across the country. Check ’em.

TPM Electoral Scoreboard: Obama 285, Romney 191.

Toss-up states: Ohio, North Carolina, Florida.

Probably the best argument for a Romney victory next Tuesday is the so-called “incumbent rule” — under which undecided voters will break disproportionately for the challenger in a close election. Mark Blumenthal at our friendly competitor Pollster has a good run down of the recent poli sci and statistical evidence showing that the rule doesn’t apply much anymore at the presidential level. Read More

Let me start this post by stipulating that I am one of those only minorly inconvenienced by Hurricane Sandy. Family is safe. No property destroyed. Really the entirety of it for me is that my apartment and office have been without electricity since Monday evening. A pretty big hassle in the context of workaday life but trivial in comparison to what people are dealing with in the flooded parts of New York City and New Jersey. Read More

Some of the most harrowing tales out of post-Sandy New York come from the big hospitals that first lost power then lost their backup generators, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of patients. Photos of that struggle.