UPI Poll: Obama has slim lead over Romney

WASHINGTON, Oct. 24 (UPI) -- President Obama claimed a slight lead over Republican rival Mitt Romney after the third debate, a United Press International poll indicated Wednesday.

Forty-nine percent of likely voters said they would vote for Obama if the election was held now and 47 percent said they would back Romney, results of the UPI-CVoter poll indicated. However, the race remained statistically too close to call because of the 4.5 percentage point margin of error.

Obama relinquished his months-long advantage over Romney after he was generally panned following the first debate at Denver Oct. 3. Obama began making up ground after a better performance at the second debate in Hempstead, N.Y.

Fifty percent of likely voters said they approve of Obama's performance as president while 45 percent said they disapprove, results indicated.

Results also found 34 percent said they thought Democrats would better tackle various issues facing the United States than Republicans while 38 percent said they thought Republicans could better address issues that include the economic crisis, unemployment and the war on terror.

The results are based on nationwide telephone interviews conducted Oct. 17-24 with 1,115 adults who said they likely would vote on Election Day. The margin of error is 4.5 percentage points.