Washington: Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is apparently riding high on the momentum ahead of November 06 elections, but US President Barack Obama still holds an upper hand in the Electoral College votes, major media outlets and political analysts believe.
To be elected as the US President, Romney or Obama need at least 270 Electoral College votes. Every state has a particular number of Electoral College votes.
For instance winning California would give Obama 55 Electoral College votes, while a win in Texas would give Romney 34 votes.
Under the present count, based on past trend and recent polls, Obama appears to have an upper hand in the Electoral College votes, while Romney is lagging behind; but none of them have reached the half way mark of 270.
"We have the clear advantage on the Electoral College," said Beau Biden, the son of US Vice President Joe Biden in an interview to MSNBC news channel.
According to Bennett, a CNN contributor, the electoral map is shrinking for Obama, while expanding for Romney.
Obama campaign has given up on North Carolina, while Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan recently campaigned in Pennsylvania, a state once thought to be totally out of the reach of them.
According to RealClearPolitics.Com`s electoral map, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania are now toss-up states and North Carolina is leaning Romney.
"President Obama regained some lost ground in the next two debates, including Monday night`s event, but the damage had already been done. Mitt Romney now carries the momentum into the home stretch," William J Bennett, a CNN contributor, wrote on the CNN website.
But that magical figure of 270 still seems to be a more difficult thing for Romney than Obama.
"The Romney team is mindful that the new enthusiasm has not opened any new paths to winning 270 electoral votes. The campaign continues to keep an eye on trying to make a late run at Pennsylvania, advisers said, but it remains more of a last-ditch option," the New York Times wrote.
"The swelling crowds and the fresh optimism among his supporters do not minimize the challenge confronting him across a wide landscape of battleground states, where Romney must win a series of individual statewide races, rather than a national contest. His room for error is so slight, one adviser said, the mathematics could be more daunting than the politics," said the New York Times.
PTI
