Pew poll finds Obama retaking national lead, up 48-45 over Romney

The new Pew poll, released Sunday, showed Obama ahead 48 percent to 45 among likely voters, a three-point bump in the president's favor after Pew’s survey one-week prior had the race tied.

The survey’s final estimate of the popular vote puts Obama at 50 and Romney at 47.

Like other national polls, Obama’s handling of Hurricane Sandy’s aftermath was viewed positively among poll respondents, as 69 percent of likely voters approved of his performance. Even 46 percent of Romney voters approved of Obama’s handling of the superstorm, the Pew poll found.

Among battleground-state voters, Obama also has a slim lead in the survey, 49-47.

The survey reflects national trends, as Obama has re-emerged with a slim lead of 0.4 percent in the Real Clear Politics polling average after Romney had pulled ahead in October.

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Romney held a 49-45 advantage in Pew’s Oct. 4-7 poll, and the candidates were tied at 47 percent in the Oct. 24-28 survey.

Other national polling also shows a tight race nationally. The NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll had Obama up 48-47 while ABC News/Washington Post and Rasmussen polls both have the race tied at 48-48 heading into the final two days of the campaign.

But a number of swing-states still remain close and the candidates are both on a cross-country weekend blitz to rally support in key battlegrounds.

Pew’s poll was conducted Oct. 31 to Nov. 3 and included 2,709 likely voters with a 2-percent margin of error.

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