Romney has his back to the wall in Florida

Source: LA Times

TAMPA, Fla. — Even as the lion's share of attention in the presidential campaign goes to the battleground of Ohio and the storm-battered states of the Mid-Atlantic, the outcome to the south, in the nation's largest swing state, now seems very much in doubt.

Mitt Romney moved into a lead here after the first presidential debate, and since then, aides have insisted that Florida, with its 29 electoral votes, sat solidly in their column. But with several polls showing President Obama's fortunes improving here and Democrats performing well in early voting — as of Thursday morning, they led by about 59,000 out of more than 3 million absentee and in-person early votes — Romney has had to devote precious hours to defending his position in the state.

With polls now in a dead heat, Romney campaigned in Florida on Saturday, returned Wednesday for rallies in Tampa, Miami and Jacksonville, and is expected back over the weekend, when Obama also is scheduled to campaign here.

For Obama, victory in Florida is a prize; for Romney it's a necessity. Debates about whether Romney can carry Ohio or other Midwestern states become moot without a win here.



Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-florida-campaign-20121102,0,3233218.story

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The LA Times has since changed the title of the article online to "Romney on a razor's edge in Florida."