WASHINGTON, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- Barack Obama remains 17 Electoral College votes short in securing a second term as U.S. president, projections by United Press International indicated Thursday.
Projections based on an opinion poll by UPI-CVoter identified states as solidly for Obama or leaning for the president total 253 of the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House.
Republican challenger Mitt Romney looked to have 235 Electoral College votes from the solidly pro-Romney and Romney-leaning states, the projections indicated.
The polling identified 10 states -- Colorado, Florida, Ohio, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Iowa, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Indiana and Virginia -- as key to either election.
The gaps between the two candidates in Colorado, Florida, Ohio, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Iowa, Pennsylvania and Virginia are within the poll's margin of error of 4.5 percentage points.
In Indiana and North Carolina, Romney leads by 5 percentage points and 6 percentage points, just beyond the margin of error.
"Neither campaign is in a position to claim it is on its way to winning the presidency," C-Voter pollster Yashwant Deshmukh said.
