Contenders neck-and-neck in nine battleground states

GEORGE BUSH and John Kerry are tied in nine of 10 states that both campaigns consider battlegrounds, daily polls by Reuters/Zogby show.

Polls in Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio show a statistical tie. Together, the states have 68 of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency.

In Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico and Wisconsin - which together have 58 electoral votes - results also are within the margin of error. In Nevada, which has five electoral votes, Bush leads Kerry by seven percentage points.

Zogby interviewed about 600 likely voters in each state between October 24-27. Each poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points. To identify a likely a voter, Zogby pollsters ask a series of questions about the respondent’s voting history, spokeswoman Shawna Walcott said.

The electoral tally, not the nationwide popular vote, determines who wins the November 2 election. The electoral votes are apportioned among states based on congressional representation. A review of state polls shows Bush ahead in 21 states, including Texas and Arkansas, with 174 electoral votes. Kerry leads in 13 states, including New York and Maine, with 188 electoral votes. In 16 states that have 176 electoral votes, results of the latest polls are within the margin of error.

FLORIDA: Bush 48% and Kerry 46%.

PENNSYLVANIA: Kerry 49% - Bushs 46%.

OHIO: Kerry 46% - Bush 45%. No Republican has lost this state and still won the presidency.

COLORADO: Kerry 50% - Bush 46%. Voted Republican in eight of the last 10 elections.

IOWA: Kerry 45% - Bush 45%.

MICHIGAN: Bush 47% - Kerry 47%. Kerry led by 52-42 three days ago.

MINNESOTA: Kerry 47% - Bush 44%.

NEW MEXICO: Bush 47% - Kerry 44%.

WISCONSIN: Kerry 50% - Bush 46%. Bush led 48-45 three days ago.

NEVADA: Bush 51% - Kerry 44%. Only state where Bush has statistically significant lead.