Obama maintains slight lead in election

WASHINGTON - New polls released Saturday showed U.S. President Barack Obama continued to enjoy a slight lead in all important battleground states of Florida and Ohio, as he and his Republican rival Mitt Romney are doubling down in those swing states three days before the election.

According to new NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist polls, in Ohio, Obama holds a six-point advantage over Romney among likely voters, 51 percent to 45 percent, which is unchanged from last month's poll in the Buckeye State.

In Florida, the president gets support from 49 percent of likely voters, while his GOP challenger gets 47 percent. Those figures are virtually identical to the ones from October, when Obama garnered 48 percent, Romney, 47 percent.

These two states are two of the biggest prizes in Tuesday's presidential contest. An Obama victory in Ohio, which has 18 electoral votes, would put him tantalizingly close to getting to the 270 electoral votes needed to win a second term, and a Romney win would put Obama in the defensive.

Florida, which has 29 electoral votes, is a must-win state for Romney. His loss in the state would practically mean Obama's reelection, even without Ohio.

The Obama campaign made its last ad buy of the election Friday, overwhelmingly focusing on Florida and Virginia, another must-win state for Romney since Obama is believed to lead the overall electoral count. Virginia has 13 electoral votes.

The Romney campaign has been counting on winning both Florida and Virginia, without which the Republican nominee is almost certain to lose the election. Romney is holding two events in Virginia on Monday, a day before the election.