Poll Results: Obama Pulling Away

Who will be the next American President?

We are getting closer to making that call says CNN. Rajdeep Sardesai on CNN IBN is braver and has tweeted that Obama will be re-elected, barring last minute shocks. There are some jokes on twitter that yes, Fox is tired of this and has switched to a weatherman’s report. CNN has called California, Hawaii, Washington for Obama. Finally, CNN calls Wisconsin for Obama, North Carolina for Romney.

President Obama is ahead at 238, compared to Romney’s 191.

Democrats will also keep control of the Senate, says CNN.

CNN calls Iowa and New Mexico for Obama. Oregon is called for Obama.

9:20 am: Now we’re waiting for Florida, Ohio and California

CNN has also called Minnesota for Obama, Arizona for Romney

9:00 am: The wind is blowing the American President’s way.

Wisconsin is going to Obama says ABC News. CNN though has still not called it. The wind is blowing the President’s way. And remember Wisconsin is Paul Ryan’s state…

CNN is now saying “this may not go as late as we expected.” John King is saying the numbers don’t favour Romney in North Carolina or Virginia. Romney holds a slim lead but outstanding counties are almost entirely blue.

8.41 am: Romney’s path to 270 electoral votes is looking harder

CNN is saying that Romney’s path to the Presidency and the magic number of 270 electoral voters is looking increasingly difficult although early results show Romney leading. Why? Well, because the results from a lot of traditionally Democratic states have not come in as yet, and Obama is performing fairly well so far.

And in Florida, CNN analyst John King strongly suggests Florida may go blue with 80 percent of the vote counted – a tally which has Obama leading by one point. The reason: the votes still to come in are from the traditionally blue counties like Miami-Dade. That will be a big win for Obama, and a decisive one.

And analysts all agree that there is no way Romney can win the election if he loses Florida.  So far voting is neck and neck, with CNN showing vote shares at 50-50. Obama is down by 636 votes, at this moment. And remember they’re still voting in Florida. Long lines.

8:30: CNN now calls Utah for Romney, New Hampshire for Obama

Meanwhile, BBC is solemnly discussing the NASCAR vote. Solidly blue collar conservative, I’ve been following that for awhile says one analyst. It’s been trending a little towards Obama for a few weeks now, he says. Oh didn’t one candidate make a slip up by saying he didn’t follow NASCAR but knew some owners says another.

Very interesting says the patrician host and then says “What’s NASCAR? Is that trucks?” All of this works much better when heard in posh British accents.

8:15 am: Not Florida, Ohio is going to be the decider

Al Jazeera is wondering if Mitt Romney is thinking he should have picked popular Ohio senator Rob Portman as his running mate. He might have had a better chance in Ohio. Paul Ryan didn’t help him take Ryan’s home state Wisconsin. Portman incidentally played Obama during Romney’s debate prep and that certainly helped Romney in the debate. But Lynn Sher says on Al Jazeera that VPs dont win elections anyway. They might just energize the base for awhile.

The wind is blowing the American President’s way. Reuters

8:10 am: Everyone agrees on Pennsylvania.

Both BBC and CNN are calling the state for Obama. The African American turnout in Penn HIGHER than 2008. Obama campaign saying this is a national trend.

8:00 am: Back to Florida

It is still neck and neck in Florida. CNN is showing vote shares at 50-50. Obama is down by 636 votes, at this moment. And remember they’re still voting in Florida. Long lines.

CNN  honchos excited about repeat of 2004 in Florida (correction we meant 2000 election). But the big difference – Florida won’t decide this election. Obama can still win without the Sunshine State. It’s all about Ohio this year. But a close count in Florida doesn’t bode well for Romney. So far. Romney,  in the words of the pundits, is “still in the game” but he shows no signs of the sweeping tallies he needs to win.

7:50 am: Why the senate race is important

If Obama wins is it back to status quo in America? The Republicans retain the House, perhaps increase their margin there. They don’t get a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. Obama could then struggle to govern.

CNN analysts say congressional candidates complain Obama didn’t come out to help them. He only recorded robo-calls for one Democratic congressional candidate. And used reliably blue state California as an ATM machine but ignored key Congressional rates there that would have helped Nancy Pelosi come back as Speaker.

7:45 am: Tweets, tweets, tweets

Two tweets that made us laugh about Romney losing Massachusetts.

Manish Vij ‏@manish_vij
Romney loses his home states, Massachusetts and Michigan.

Nathan Jensen ‏@NateMJensen
To be fair, Romney’s home state is really the Cayman Islands.

7:35 am: Meanwhile in the Senate races.

NBC calls Massachusetts for Elizabeth Warren (D). She replaces Sen. Scott Brown (R).

These were Key senate race Democrats were fighting for. In governor races Katrina vandenHeuvel ‏@KatrinaNation Maggie Hassan wins NH! Will be only pro-choice Democratic woman Governor

Republicans will keep control of House of Representatives.

7:25 am: The big calls

Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming, Mississipi – all for Romney

Michigan, New York for Obama

7:20 am: The never-ending lines

It shouldn’t take this kind of heroism to cast your vote: CNN pundit Van Jones on two hour lines in Florida. Don’t miss our photo post on the stunning lines.

Tell that to Indians in remote villages who travel great distances and wait all day to cast their ballot.

Mark Knoller ‏@markknoller tweets – Virginia State Board of Elections suspends reporting results so voters still waiting “not unduly influenced by preliminary results.”

7:10 am: More projections

Now CNN calls Alabama for Romney. Yawn.

What’s interesting is the pace of media calls – Fox, the most aggressive is calling the electoral votes for Obama 78 – Romney 88 and at the other end of the spectrum is the NYTimes and AP at Obama 65 – Romney 51.

7:00 am: The Florida question

Signs of hope for Obama in Florida? His numbers are bigger in Miami-Dade county than 2008 and he is winning in some of the bellwether swing counties. Still too early to call, but an unexpected sliver of hope for Obama in a state where he has consistently trailed Romney.

CNN has just called Arkansas and Tennessee for Romney.

Arkansas is another one of the six states Pres Obama has not visited since taking office says Mark Knoller, CBS News White House Correspondent, Radio

6.54 am: It’s the economy stupid

That old Clinton campaign mantra has since become conventional wisdom. And all the exit polls, be it CNN or BBC, show that the economy is indeed the number one issue for voters.

So what would it mean if Obama did indeed win this election – a president who has presided over a sluggish economy, failed to deliver on promises, real or perceived, to deliver America out of its fiscal crisis?

One BBC pundit describes such a win as “stunning” and unprecedented. Will Obama rewrite the golden rule of US elections? If so, what does it say about the American voter? That’s one of the big questions hanging over this Election Day.

BTW: “Macaca man” George Allen is in the lead in the Senate race in Virginia. He is at 53.1% of the vote against Democrat and former governor Tim Kaine’s 46.9% according to New York Times. Allen lost to Jim Webb last time around especially after he singled out an Indian American filming him in the crowd calling him “macaca.”

6.50 am: 11 million tweets with #Election2012 Hashtag

This is BIG!

Twitter Government ‏@gov, which describes itself as a handle that provides “Updates from the Twitter Government & Politics team, tracking creative & effective uses of Twitter for civic engagement has just posted this: “BREAKING: Tweets around #Election2012 just surpassed 11 million for the day.”

6.35 pm: CNN projects 7 more states for Obama

CNN has projected a bunch of states for President Obama, giving him 64 electoral college votes to Romney’s 56. The latest projections gave Obama the states of Connecticut (7 electoral votes), Delaware (3 electoral votes), District of Columbia (3 electoral votes), Illinois (20 electoral votes), Maryland (10 electoral votes), Massachusetts (11 electoral votes) and Maine (3 of 4 electoral votes).

Meanwhile in Florida, counting so far shows Obama leading by 51 percent to Romney’s 49 percent. These are based on real votes, not exit polls.

6.28 pm: Obama exhorts people to #StayInLine

As polls begin closing across states in the country, President Obama is reminding voters that they can still vote as long as they just stay in line.

6.01 am: CNN projects West Virginia, Indiana for Romney

Based on its exit polls, CNN has said it expects Romney to take West Virginia and Indiana, giving him 24 electoral college votes to Obama’s 03. It has declined to project for Ohio, although it said that exit polls in the key swing state of Ohio indicate Obama winning 51 percent of the vote to Romney’s 48%.

More good news for Obama in Florida, with early counting giving the President a slight lead (51% -48%) in the swing state. Florida is crucial for Romney, with political commentators saying that he has absolutely no chance of winning the Presidency if he loses the state.

Meanwhile the data crunchers over at Businessweek have said that the earliest that they will be able to conclusively call the election will be 9 pm EST (6.30 am India) and that is if Mitt Romney wins. Why? Because according to the publication,  “states leaning his way close earlier than those leaning toward President Obama. That’s if Romney wins toss-ups such as Virginia, Ohio, Florida, and New Hampshire. If he doesn’t, we’ll all have to stay up later.”

The report adds that “the earliest there will plausibly be an official call for Obama is 11 p.m. And that’s assuming that he carries most of those toss-up states. The reason it’s later for Obama is mainly California and its 55 electoral votes. The polls don’t close there until 11 pm EST (8.30am India)

5.42 am: Voting ends in swing state of Florida, early counting begins

Voting just about ended in the key swing state of Florida, but results have already started coming in. So far, early results show a dead tie in terms of voter percentage, although Romney is ahead by 712 votes. Only five percent of the vote is in though.

Meanwhile speaking to reporters aboard his campaign plane on his last flight on the campaign, Romney said he just finished writing his victory speech on the flight from Pittsburgh to Boston.

“It’s about 1,118 words. I’m sure it’ll change before I’m finished because I haven’t passed it around to my family and friends and advisors to get their reaction. But I’ve only written one speech at this point.”

The question at ill we ever get to hear it?

He said he had no regrets: “I feel like we put it all on the field. We left nothing in the locker room. We fought to the very end and I think that’s why we’ll be successful.”

He also talked about his parents. “I think about my dad from time to time. And my mom. I sure wish they were around to be part of this,” he said. “I hope they’re able to watch in their own way.”

“Asked on his final campaign flight whether he might get a puppy if elected, Romney said “one of the benefits would be to get another Weimaraner.”

5.34 am: Fox News calls Kentucky, Indiana, Georgia for Romney

The Fox News channel has called a few states, projecting that Republican Mitt Romney will carry Kentucky, a deeply Republican state, so no surprises there. However it has also projected that he will win Indiana, which Obama won in 2008.

The channel has also called Georgia for Romney, but has said Obama will win Vermont – which has long been considered a liberal bastion.

CNN has also called Kentucky for Romney.

First projections from Al Jazeera also hand Indiana and Kentucky for Romney and Vermont for Obama.

FIRST POST.WORLD

{Matzav.com Newscenter}