The two presidential rivals will face off in their 3rd and final debate on Monday night.
President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney participate in the second presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012.Going into Monday night's third and final presidential debate, the latest Gallup seven-day tracking poll of likely voters shows Republican challenger Mitt Romney holding a 7 percentage point lead over President Barack Obama at 52 percent to 45 percent.
Gallup's likely voter procedures involve asking poll respondents seven separate questions about their interest in the coming election, their past voting behavior, and their current intention to vote in the coming election.
Frank Newport, editor-in-chief of Gallup, speaking to the Washington Post, cautioned the results may not fully reflect the outcome of Tuesday's second presidential debate.
“I think we’re still seeing leftover positive support for Romney and I don’t think we’re seeing impact yet from the second debate,” Newport said.
Statistician Nate Silver argued in the New York Times that Gallup's numbers are off and the race is much closer, as other polls have indicated.
There are 18 days remaining until the Nov. 6 election.