This has had a direct impact on the race. National polls and polls in battleground states have tightened since the first meeting of the candidates, with Obama and Romney now in a virtual tie as we head into the home stretch of this election year.
More debates will certainly bring more headlines and, hopefully, greater awareness of the candidates’ positions on issues important to the IT industry. These are the three remaining debates:
- October 11, 2012: Vice Presidential Debate – Foreign and Domestic Policy
- October 16, 2012: Foreign and Domestic Policy
- October 22, 2012: Foreign Policy
For more information on the upcoming debates, visit the Presidential Debate Commission, which is responsible for hosting the debates and establishing the format and venue agreeable to both campaigns. This site also provides debate transcripts and archived debate footage.
Who is Winning?
To further illustrate the closeness of this campaign, the most recent Gallup Poll has Romney leading Obama 49 percent to 47 percent among likely voters. In the same poll, Obama has a slight lead among registered voters. The Rasmussen Daily Tracking Poll has Romney leading 48 percent to 47 percent with 4 percent undecided. An average of major polls compiled by Real Clear Politics has Romney with a 0.8 percent advantage.
It will be important to continue to monitor fluctuations in polls in the battleground states: Ohio, Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, Iowa, Nevada, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin – most of which remain fairly close in the polls at this point.
Who is Better for IT?
With less than a month left before Election Day, the candidates are spending millions of dollars to get their messages to likely voters. As they’ve done so, we’ve learned a great deal about the various proposals and agendas of both Obama and Romney. However, both candidates’ messages lack specificity on policies impacting the IT industry. Of course, both have highlighted the importance of small businesses, remaining globally competitive and increasing math and science education. But we would like to see candidates become more vocal on the value of the U.S. IT sector to our economy and job growth, as well as on the need for more access to capital and a less burdensome tax code.
Both candidates have been focused on the economy. The IT industry provides a great opportunity for both to address the impact of workforce training, for example, as it’s an industry with over 300,000 job openings.
With the remaining debates allowing both candidates to articulate their positions, we all hope that there is additional focus in the remaining weeks on policies that directly impact the tech sector.
