国际英语新闻:Polls Show Obama Builds Modest Lead Over Romney

Romney refocused his campaign on the president’s handling of the economy during a campaign stop Thursday in Virginia.

Both campaigns are also preparing for the upcoming series of debates.  There will be three debates between the president and Mr. Romney as well as one vice presidential debate between Vice President Joe Biden and the Republican candidate, Congressman Paul Ryan.  The first debate will take place October 3.

Analyst Thomas Mann of the Brookings Institution says he expects the Romney campaign to try to put the focus back on the economy and jobs in the final weeks of the campaign.

“As best we can tell it really is trying to return the campaign debate to a referendum on President Obama and the performance of the economy,” Mann said.

In addition to a lead in national polls, President Obama also leads Romney in a number of closely contested so-called battleground states that will likely determine the outcome of the election November 6.

Speaking on VOA's Encounter program, Judd Legum of the Center for American Progress says President Obama has an advantage in the state-by-state competition for electoral college votes because he can afford to lose a few states he won four years ago and still win re-election.

“I do think that there are some structural advantages for Obama, at least as things sit now, simply because he had a fairly resounding victory last time, so he can lose quite a few states that he won last time and still end up retaining the presidency,” Legum said.

Both candidates are expected to concentrate on a handful of battleground states in the final weeks of the campaign, states that include Ohio, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, Virginia and Wisconsin.