Posted: Oct 28, 2012 1:49 PM
Updated: Oct 28, 2012 1:49 PM
EDITORS:
We'd like to call your attention to these top political stories, photos and multimedia, for immediate use.
TEXT
PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN-ROAD TO 270
AMES, Iowa An Associated Press analysis of the White House races shows that President Barack Obama is poised to eke out a victory in the hunt for the 270 electoral votes needed to win re-election, having beaten back Republican Mitt Romney's attempts to convert momentum from the debates into support in all-important Ohio. While in a tight race with Obama for the popular vote, Romney continues to have fewer state-by-state paths than Obama to reach 270. By Thomas Beaumont.
MOOD OF THE NATION
CHARLOTTE, N.C. The worst economic setback since the Depression didn't take sides. It raked small towns and big cities, knocked liberals and conservatives on their backs, plagued Republicans and Democrats alike. Across the country, Associated Press reporters asked people to talk about their livelihoods before and after the 2007-2009 recession and how those experiences have shaped their politics in the presidential election just days away. In this time of great polarization, their stories bridge the partisan divide, showing that economic fears aren't exclusive to either political tribe, that gritty resilience and optimism are shared traits, too. And that no one seems to think either candidate can work miracles. By Calvin Woodward and Mitch Weiss.
OBAMACARE-DILEMMA
WASHINGTON You'd think health insurance chief executives would be chilling the bubbly with Republican Mitt Romney's improved election prospects, but instead they're in a quandary. Although the industry hates parts of President Barack Obama's health care law, major outfits such as UnitedHealth Group and BlueCross Blue Shield also stand to rake in billions of dollars from new customers who'll get health insurance under the law. The companies already have invested tens of millions of dollars to carry it out. By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar.
PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN
CELINA, Ohio Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama frantically sought to close the deal with voters with precious few days left in an incredibly close race as this year's October surprise an unprecedented storm menacing the East Coast wreaked havoc on their best laid plans. By Josh Lederman and Steve Peoples.
PHOTOS
DCJM109, President Barack Obama hugs his daughter Sasha as he walks with Malia as they leave St. John's Episcopal Church to walk across Lafayette Park as they return to the White House.
OHCD105, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney arrives to speak to an overflow crowd of supporters as he campaigns at the Celina Fieldhouse in Celina, Ohio.
MULTIMEDIA
An AP interactive, updated daily with campaign events, is available at /2012/election-2012/.
An HTML gallery of photos taken on the campaign trail by AP photographers using the popular Instagram photo-sharing tool is now available at /2012/instagram-campaign-trail/
The AP