Obama, Romney tied at 49 percent

President Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney are in a dead heat in their battle for the White House, a CNN poll indicated. Forty-nine percent of likely voters questioned say they support Obama and an equal percentage said they back Romney, results of the poll released Sunday indicated. The poll is the fourth national non-partisan survey released Sunday that indicated the race for the presidency was virtually tied. A Politico-George Washington University survey showed Obama and Romney deadlocked at 48 percent. An NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll had Obama at 48 percent and Romney at 47 percent. An ABC News-Washington Post tracking poll indicated Obama had 49 percent support and Romney 48 percent. A Pew Research Center survey released Sunday put Obama at 50 percent and the former Massachusetts governor at 47 percent, a statistical tie because of the poll's margin of error. The CNN poll indicated the president's favorable rating were at 52 percent and Romney's favorable ratings were a percentage point behind. Fifty-one percent of likely voters said they agree with Obama on important issues and 50 percent say they agree with Romney, CNN results showed. Fifty-six percent said Obama has the personal qualities a president should have, and 55 percent said the same about Romney. Results are based on nationwide telephone surveys Friday through Sunday of 1,010 adult Americans, including 918 registered, 693 who said they were likely to vote Tuesday. The margin of error for registered and likely voters is 3.5 percentage points.