Just like the aftermath of the national political conventions for both parties, we should be careful about drawing any big conclusions from polling done after the Presidential debates, but an initial batch of polling in some key swing states raises some interesting questions and gives some hope to supporters of Mitt Romney.
Two groups - Rasmussen and WeAskAmerica did quick polls on Thursday in Virginia, Florida and Ohio, and each organization showed a bump for Romney when compared to polls done before the Wednesday debate in Denver, where Mitt Romney was perceived to be the clear winner over President Obama.
Let's look at what the data showed:
* Florida - WeAskAmerica found Romney ahead by 3 points; their last poll on September 18 had Obama +3. Rasmussen had Romney ahead by 2 points in Florida, a four point switch from their last poll in the Sunshine State back on September 12.
* Virginia - Rasmussen found Romney ahead by one point in the Old Dominion; their last poll in Virginia on September 13 had President Obama ahead by one. Yes, both are within the margin of error and therefore some will argue statistically insignificant. WeAskAmerica found Romney to be ahead by 2 points; that was a 5 point switch from their last Virginia poll on September 17.
* Ohio - Rasmussen's latest poll has the President ahead by one point in the Buckeye State, the same as their poll back on September 12; most other polls have had a much larger lead for Obama. WeAskAmerica found Romney ahead by one point in Ohio, the first lead for Romney in the last 15 statewide polls there.
Let's not go out too far and say that this is evidence of a Romney post-debate bump.
On the other hand, let's not ignore this data either.
Many people on the Democratic side don't think much of Rasmussen, many on the Republican side don't think much of polling in general right now, and there are others who aren't sure about automated phone polling in general.
(I think perception of polls is sort of like how you view your own political party - my party is good, yours is bad; the poll that shows my party ahead is good, while your poll showing him behind must be biased.)
Maybe by Sunday night - after some more state polls have come out - we'll have a better idea of how Romney's "win" in the Denver debate might impact this race for the White House.
Stay tuned.
