Two polls released this week showed President Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney divided by only one percentage point, locked in a virtual tie.
The Washington Post-ABC News poll found Romney to be leading Obama 47% to 46% among registered voters, while Obama leads 46% to 45% in a CBS News-New York Times survey. This puts both candidates' leads within the three to four point margin of era.
Romney continues to hold a slight lead over the president in terms of who voters believe will handle the economy and jobs best, as well as among male and white voters. Obama performs better with women, non-whites and on foreign policy, social issues, and general likability.
The polls were fielded about a week prior to the Republican National Convention, which opened on Monday.