The newest poll from Gallup, the organization that chose
the undecided voters who will participate in tonight’s presidential town hall
debate, shows Mitt Romney with a 50 percent to 46 percent edge over President
Obama among likely voters.

While Romney’s four-point advantage is not statistically
significant, according to Gallup, the Republican nominee has consistently edged
ahead of incumbent Obama in each of the past several days in Gallup’s seven-day
rolling averages conducted entirely after the Oct. 3 presidential debate. Prior
to that debate — regarded
as a decisive Romney win
by political experts and Americans who watched it
— Romney averaged less than a one-point lead over Obama among likely voters.

The latest result, from Oct. 9-15, is based on 2,723
likely voters drawn from more than 3,100 registered voters. What it shows is
that Obama is lagging significantly behind his standing at this time in 2008
among Southerners, professionals with post-graduate degrees and middle-aged
voters.
The chart below shows that, compared with Obama’s 2008
race against John McCain, the president’s support is down the most among voters
in the South, 30- to 49-year-olds, those with four-year college degrees,
postgraduates, men, and Protestants. He has also slipped modestly among whites,
Easterners, women, and Catholics.
2008 vs. 2012 Likely Voter Preference for President