But Obama got a boost on Tuesday when the US Supreme Court ruled that Ohio cannot limit early voting, as the state’s Republican-led legislature did last year. That move had been seen as a blow against Obama’s African-American voting base.
Obama’s campaign manager Jim Messina told reporters here that Obama retained multiple routes to get to the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency and dismissed the Romney campaign’s confidence in Ohio.
At Hofstra, Romney must prove his sure-footed performance two weeks ago was no fluke and faces the added challenge of the town hall-style format, which will feature more interaction and participation from the audience.
Some expect Obama to go after Romney on the challenger’s comments that 47 percent of Americans are “victims” who depend on government and his record as a multimillionaire businessman, something the president did not do in Denver.
Brett O’Donnell, one of the country’s premier political debate coaches, said Romney cannot roll back on his heels.
“Clearly the president will go on the offense more, he’ll be more aggressive,” O’Donnell told Fox News.
“Governor Romney’s got to avoid taking the bait and getting on defense. He’s got to stay on offense as well.”
Many national polls show Romney and Obama locked in a tie, but the challenger can claim undeniable momentum in the battleground states that will decide who will live in the White House come January.
A USA Today/Gallup poll on Tuesday showed a startling erosion of support for Obama among women, who now back Obama just 49-48 percent, in 12 swing states.
The poll shows Romney’s overall lead at 50-46 percent among likely voters in the swing states, compared with a 49-47 Obama lead among registered voters.
The Obama campaign blasted the methodology of the poll.
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