As Clock Winds Down, Race Is a Nail-Biter

With the hourglass blessedly running out on Election 2012, Team Obama is scrambling to get out the vote, while Team Romney is making a late move for Pennsylvania, as the AP reports that both campaigns are projecting confidence going into Tuesday's vote. A look around the landscape and the final poll numbers:

• The latest Washington Post/ABC News poll puts the candidates even at 48%, a number it says has "barely fluctuated." The incumbent appears to have a slight advantage in terms of electoral votes, and Republicans are likely to keep the House as Democrats should hang onto the Senate. Click for the lengthy report.
• According to NBC/WSJ, the race is neck-and-neck with President Obama at 48% among likely voters to Mitt Romney's 47%. That gives Obama a slight leg up from two weeks ago, when both candidates had 47%.

• Public Policy Polling gives Obama a 50% to 47% lead nationally, in what it says is the first time either candidate has opened up a lead of more than 2 points.
• In Iowa, the Des Moines Register gives Obama a 47% to 42% edge, though a scant majority trust him more with the economy. “If Romney can’t catch up here, he probably can’t catch up elsewhere," says a Dem pollster. "Without Iowa and Ohio, Romney’s path to victory is incredibly narrow.”
• In Ohio, the Columbus Dispatch gives Obama a 50% to 48% lead, though that's within the survey's 2.2% margin of error, and the paper notes that strong GOP turnout could sway the Buckeye State for Romney.
• In Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh Tribune puts the race in a dead heat at 47% all, with a 3.46% margin of error. Some 60% of those surveyed remain negative about the economy.
• Nate Silver, meanwhile, is giving Obama a better than 80% chance of an electoral vote win in case of a tie in the popular vote. Click for his polling breakdown.

(More Election 2012 stories.)