Rasmussen: Romney leads by 5 percent nationally

Mitt Romney has opened up a 5-point lead over President Obama nationally, according to the latest daily tracking survey from conservative polling outlet Rasmussen.

Romney leads 49 to 44 percent, according to the poll. That could be an outlier – according to the Real Clear Politics average of polls, Obama leads by 1 point nationally, while the Gallup daily tracking survey shows the two candidates tied at 46.

“As with any such change in the race, it remains to be seen whether it marks a lasting shift or is merely statistical noise,” Rasmussen wrote.

The Rasmussen poll shows Romney’s national lead similar to his lead over Obama on who is better equipped to handle the economy. Romney leads Obama 49 to 43 percent on that question.

Team Romney has made Obama’s "you didn't build that" remark central to its campaign message, claiming it reveals the president relies too heavily on government intervention, rather than allowing the free market to turn the economy around.

A senior campaign official for the Obama campaign told The Hill on Friday that they had no plans of altering the president’s style on the stump in the wake of the gaffe. The Obama campaign has said the remark was taken out of context, and that it was part of a larger point that most successful businesspeople have benefited at some point from government aid, whether it’s in the form of teachers, roads or loans.

While the Rasmussen poll is good news for the Romney campaign nationally, Obama still holds an edge in the 12 swing states likely to determine the outcome of the election.

By some estimates, Obama will need to win about half of the electoral votes supplied by the swing states of Florida, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Virginia, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Iowa, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire if he is to secure a second term.
 
The president won all of those states in 2008.

The Real Clear Politics average of polls shows Obama leading Romney by 5 percentage points in Ohio, which has the second most Electoral College votes at stake among those 12 battleground states.

And while most swing-state polls have tightened recently, Obama holds modest leads in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, New Mexico, Colorado, Michigan and Nevada, according to the Real Clear Politics average.

The candidates are statistically tied in Iowa, Florida, New Hampshire, Virginia and North Carolina.

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