Obama Ahead in Iowa, Wisconsin

With just three weeks until Election Day, Obama's lead in the battleground states of Iowa and Wisconsin remains mostly unchanged after the two presidential debates, according to a new NBC/WSJ/Marist poll. Among likely voters in Iowa, Obama leads 51% to Romney's 43%. In Wisconsin, it's 51% to 45%. Together, the states offer the candidates only 16 electoral votes, but NBC says they could tip the election.

By its math, if Obama wins both, a victory in Ohio would then clinch a second term. (It lays out a few other combinations involving other states, too.) But if Romney takes just one of the states, he "widens his own path to 270 and limits Obama." Other tidbits from the poll: Among women voters in the states, Obama has a double-digit lead, and he also is ahead among early voters. However, Romney’s favorable/unfavorable rating is improving in both states. Better news for Romney: Gallup still has him leading on the national level. Yesterday's tracking poll puts him up 52-45, reports ABC News. (More poll numbers stories.)