Poll: Romney tops Obama 49-48 nationally

Mitt Romney is holding a slight edge nationally over President Obama, according to the latest Washington Post/ABC News tracking poll.

Romney, the GOP nominee, holds a 49 percent to 48 advantage among likely voters, well within the margin of error, the poll said Sunday. That’s the same lead Romney held on Friday, the last day the Post and ABC released tracking poll data.

The poll also showed that voters are split practically down the middle on Obama’s approval rating, with 50 percent backing the president and 48 percent opposing him.

Romney has edged to an advantage in several national polls in recent weeks, moving out to a five-percentage point lead in Gallup’s national tracker.

But analysts have suggested that the president might have a clearer path to 270 electoral votes, given the recent polling that has given Obama a slight edge in key battlegrounds including Ohio, Wisconsin and Nevada. 

In the Post and ABC’s most recent tracking poll, voters said they trusted Romney more, by a 51 percent to 44 percent margin, on the economy. Obama held a slight lead when voters were asked who best understood their economic problems.

The poll also found that Romney voters were more likely to be voting against Obama, rather than for their preferred candidate.

Around 35 percent of Romney voters said they were voting against Obama, with around one in five Obama supporters saying they were voting against the GOP nominee. 

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