Romney ahead in four new national polls

Mitt Romney leads President Obama in four new national polls released Thursday, an indication of sustained momentum for the GOP challenger one week after his debate victory.

{mosads}Romney leads by 3 percentage points in the latest Reuters-Ispsos and UPI-CVoter polls. He has 47 percent support compared Obama’s 44 percent in the former, and 49 percent to 46 percent lead in the latter. 

Both of those polls are of likely voters, but Romney’s leads are within the margins of error.

The race is a little tighter in surveys from Gallup and IBD-TIPP, where Romney leads 48 percent to 47 percent, and 47 percent to 46 percent, respectively.

The only poll released Thursday that showed Obama in the lead was from conservative polling outlet Rasmussen, which shows the president ahead 48 percent to Romney’s 47 percent.

The national race is statistically tied now, according to the Real Clear Politics (RCP) average of polls, with Romney at 47.1 percent support over Obama at 46.4, a 0.7 percentage point margin of difference.

Romney overtook Obama in the RCP average of polls for the first time on Tuesday.

The first debate between Obama and Romney has significantly shifted momentum in the race. 



According to Gallup, 72 percent of viewers said Romney won the debate, compared to only 20 percent who said Obama. It was the biggest margin of victory Gallup has ever recorded in a presidential showdown.

Democrats are hopeful Vice President Biden can blunt Romney’s momentum when he takes on Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan at a nationally-televised debate in Lexington, Ky., on Thursday night.

Obama will get another crack at Romney next Tuesday in a debate at Hofstra University on Long Island in New York.