Romney’s Debate Performance Swings Polls In His Favor

In the five days since Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney was declared by many the winner of the first presidential debate, political watchers have waited to see if polls would shift in response to his performance. And, they did.

Not only has the Gallup tracking poll tightened to a tie — 47-47 — but the Pew poll, which last month found President Obama with a strong lead among likely voters — 51-43 — has also seen a huge swing. In the latest poll, Romney now leads 49-45.

“He had a 46 percentage point margin of victory in the debate; by a 66 percent to 20 percent margin, he was declared the winner by the people that we questioned,” Andy Kohut, president of the Pew Research Center, tells All Things Considered host Robert Siegel. “According to Gallup, that’s one of the biggest debate wins ever.”