Path to Reelection Clear for Obama

Reelection may be Barack Obama’s for the taking, according to polls that show him close to the 270 electoral votes he’ll need to keep his job. Republican candidate Mitt Romney is behind in the nine key states where he and Obama have been fighting for every last vote. “We’d rather be us than them,” Obama spokeswoman Jennife Psaki said. The Associated Press estimates that if the election were held today, Romney would secure 206 electoral votes but President Obama would net 271—one more than the total needed to win. Romney political director Rich Beeson differed, however, saying Obama would have “a hard time” securing more than 50 percent of the vote in many of the critical states.