Obama maintains slight lead in battleground states in polls

 Obama maintains slight lead in battleground states in polls

WASHINGTON, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- New polls released Saturday showed U.S. President Barack Obama continued to enjoy a slight lead in all important battleground states of Florida and Ohio, as he and his Republican rival Mitt¹ Romney are doubling down in those swing states three days before the election.

According to new NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist polls, in Ohio, Obama holds a six-point advantage over Romney among likely voters, 51 percent to 45 percent, which is unchanged from last month's poll in the Buckeye State.

In Florida, the president gets support from 49 percent of likely voters, while his GOP challenger gets 47 percent. Those figures are virtually identical to the ones from October, when Obama garnered² 48 percent, Romney, 47 percent.

These two states are two of the biggest prizes in Tuesday's presidential contest. An Obama victory in Ohio, which has 18 electoral votes, would put him tantalizingly³ close to getting to the 270 electoral votes needed to win a second term, and a Romney win would put Obama in the defensive⁴.

Florida, which has 29 electoral votes, is a must-win state for Romney. His loss in the state would practically mean Obama's reelection, even without Ohio.

The Obama campaign made its last ad buy of the election Friday, overwhelmingly focusing on Florida and Virginia, another must-win state for Romney since Obama is believed to lead the overall electoral count. Virginia has 13 electoral votes.

The Romney campaign has been counting on winning both Florida and Virginia, without which the Republican nominee⁵ is almost certain to lose the election. Romney is holding two events in Virginia on Monday, a day before the election.

1 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

2 garnered   

v.收集并（通常）贮藏（某物），取得，获得( garner的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Mr. Smith gradually garnered a national reputation as a financial expert. 史密斯先生逐渐赢得全国金融专家的声誉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He has garnered extensive support for his proposals. 他的提议得到了广泛的支持。 来自辞典例句

3 tantalizingly   

adv.…得令人着急，…到令人着急的程度

参考例句：

• A band of caribou passed by, twenty and odd animals, tantalizingly within rifle range. 一群驯鹿走了过去，大约有二十多头，都呆在可望而不可即的来福枪的射程以内。 来自英汉文学 - 热爱生命
• She smiled at him tantalizingly. 她引诱性地对他笑着。 来自互联网

4 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

5 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。