A Tight Race … And a Shameless Plug

GOP nominee Mitt Romney, left, and President Barack Obama shake hands following their testy debate on Oct. 16 at Hofstra University in New York. (SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

Five full days of campaigning to go and the race for the White House appears, according to the so-called experts, a dead heat.

What a difference a few weeks makes. Through much of October, it appeared President Barack Obama had the easier path to the 270 votes needed to secure an Electoral College victory.

To borrow a phrase from ESPN college football analyst Lee Corso: Not so fast, my friend.

Over the course of the last few days, independent political tracking organization RealClearPolitics.com has moved several states that once leaned red or blue into the toss-up column.

States like North Carolina (previously leaning Romney), Pennsylvania (previously leaning Obama), Virginia (previously leaning Obama), and Michigan (previously leaning Obama) are now in play, according to the average of credible polls tabulated by RealClearPolitics.com.

As of Friday morning (Nov. 2), RealClear is projecting the president has 201 Electoral College votes all but locked in, while Romney has 191 locked up. That leaves 141 up for grabs.

Buckle up, folks, it could be a long night. Or a long week. Or, if enough lawyers get involved, a long month.

As for election night (Nov. 6), Intercepts will have you covered. We’ll be blogging about the presidential race and what it means for national security and the defense sector, as well as keeping you updated on key congressional races.

Keep those comments coming, and we hope you’ll e-mail the Intercepts team with insights and tips.

We’re gearing up for a long night. We’ll try and make sense of what should be a wild night.

John T. Bennett

John T. Bennett

Bennett is the Editor of Defense News' CongressWatch channel. He has a Masters degree in Global Security Studies from Johns Hopkins University.
John T. Bennett
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