by Chi Ibe
The final IBD/TIPP presidential tracking poll finds President Barack Obama holds a slim lead, 50.3 percent to 48.7 percent, with just 1 percent preferring other candidates. The margin of error is +/- 3.7 percent.
Mitt Romney runs behind in all age groups, except for those over 65, in which he has a 53 percent to 46 percent edge. The results also show a pronounced gender split, with men favoring Romney 54 percent to 46 percent, while women prefer Obama 55 percent to 44 percent.
Even though Romney holds a 6-point lead among independents, Obama’s 86-point advantage among Democrats — who outnumber Republicans in registration — gives him the lead. But even among women there is a gap, with married women handing Romney a 6-point advantage, while unmarried women opt for Obama by a substantial 29 points.
In addition, the poll also found:
- For the first time since IBD/TIPP started the poll, President Obama garners 40 percent of the white vote. That’s a critical threshold he had to hit in order to make a win possible;
- Romney performs better with conservatives than John McCain did in 2008;
- Catholic voters are breaking for Romney. He now holds a 17-point lead among this group, up from just 1 point in the Oct. 28 poll.
Due to Hurricane Sandy, the IBD/TIPP tracking poll was suspended on Oct. 28 and resumed on Nov. 3. The final results are based on data collected from Saturday to Monday.
