Should Mitt Romney be the next US President?

8:31 AM Monday Nov 5, 2012

Digital image / P.K. Stowers

Today's United States election will be decided by 10 swing states, regions where polling shows little distance between President Barack Obama and challenger Mitt Romney, a political scientist says.

Associate Professor Stephen Hoadley, of Auckland University, said much of the focus would be on Ohio because of its bellwether status. No presidential candidate has won in the past 50 years without taking it.

The other swing states are Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.

In some of the state polls, just 0.3 of a per cent separates Mr Romney and the President. Latest polling puts Mr Obama ahead in Ohio, which carries 18 electoral college votes.

Should Mitt Romney be the next US President?

Note: You must vote Yes or No to have your comment posted.

Pointy Head (Waikato) | 09:14AM Monday, 05 Nov 2012

Despite the obscene amount spent on this election the thought of Romney in the WH makes me shudder. His economic "plan"; the fundamentalist views towards women of his running mate; his lack of foreign expertise... the list goes on.

Simondb (New Zealand) | 09:14AM Monday, 05 Nov 2012

Romney and Ryan will make Bush and Cheney look like angels.

PostmanPat () | 09:14AM Monday, 05 Nov 2012

The guy represents everything which led to economic state the US is now in - greed, dishonesty, excess - and he claims he's going to fix it? Add to that his appalling ignorance of international affairs as demonstrated in the debates, his complete dismissal of women's rights and his refusal to even discuss climate change and you have the complete nightmare package.