Discussing the end of the Obama-Romney race (Google+ Hangout)
Just five days from election day, President Obama and Mitt Romney are rushing among the roughly half-dozen states that are likely to determine who will be the next president of the United States.
Three political reporters — Jim Rainey and Robin Abcarian of the Los Angeles Times and Todd Wilson of the Daily Press in Virginia — will join host Sarah Hashim-Waris at 10:30 a.m. PDT on Thursday for a video discussion about the state of the race.
With Abcarian reporting from Cincinnati and Wilson from Richmond, Va., we’ll talk about whether Obama’s advantage in Ohio can hold and whether Romney can get what is perceived as a must win in Virginia.
After a day off the campaign trail Wednesday in the aftermath of super storm Sandy, Romney returned to a full day on the stump in Virginia, while the president stumped beginning in Green Bay, Wis., and moving on to Las Vegas.
Both sides are claiming momentum as the vote approaches, but most independent analysts agree — after a surge by Romney following the first debate, in early October, the race has stabilized. That means the Democrat and Republican are deadlocked nationally, with Obama having a narrow advantage in more swing states than Romney.
The margins in the key states — Ohio, Florida, Virginia, Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, Wisconsin and North Carolina — are mostly within the margin of error of the polls. There’s no reason to think, at this late stage, that either candidate will surge to a substantial advantage in the final vote.
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