Reuters polling 'calls' battleground states in US election correctly

Nearly 130 million people voted in the U.S. presidential election, but on Nov. 4 the race came down to balloting in about a dozen “swing states” where the contest was exceptionally tight. Reuters gave the full picture of this key aspect of the campaign, with daily rundowns of polling data from the most competitive state races and, in the final weeks, a Reuters/Zogby poll detailing the state of play in the 8 most crucial battlegrounds. The final Zogby report, issued the night before the election, predicted correctly that Obama would score wins in Florida, Ohio, Virginia and Nevada as well as a big victory in Pennsylvania, which proved to be the key to the White House. It also showed a tie in Missouri. McCain eventually scraped to the narrowest of victories at 49.5 pct vs. 49.3 pct. Indiana, another extremely tight race, was the only surprise, going narrowly for Obama over McCain, who had been the projected winner.