>> and this is a battleground virginia, an abc 7 vote 2012 news special. >> today, i believe that as a nation, we are moving forward again. we cannot go on the path we been on. we must restore america's strength, and i will do it with your help. tonight the battle is on in the commonwealth. i am leon harris. >> and i am alison starling. welcome to our first virginia special. president obama and mitt romney made numerous stops all .ver the commonwealth >> the latest public policy poll

shows a obama with a 50% lead over romney in virginia. with 3% still undecided, it is grabs.p for with 28 days to go and two more well,ential debates as the candidates are crisscrossing .he country thuman is live in arlington with the latest from the campaign trail. >> it that were giving out passports stems, these guys entire book just for virginia. when it comes to knocking on doors, making phone calls, and bothng voter contacts, well surpassed y did in 2008. >> we will win virginia again. >> thank you, virginia. >> practically virginia point,ce at this

obama and mitt romney stops,ing frequent interviews, and always bleeding. find at leastto alwaysson who voted -- pleading. >> the race is narrowing by the day. sizablearch shows the ind for president obama september has vanished. suddenly there is a four point lead for romney. mitt romney is for the first time personalizing his pitches. >> i was serving as a pastor in my church. d son had beenol diagnosed with leukemia. as time went on, it became very clear there would not be a cure, , became hish david friend. >> the president pulled no punches. of changing the plan,

pretended it does not exist. >> even approving this ad about the fight over pbs funding. greed,inals, blends of genius to talbert over them? man had the guts to speak name. >> big bird. >> big bird. >> another voter registration outside this metro stop. we saw both men in virginia on friday. the first lady in loudon county tonight. we have just got word from the obama campaign that the president will be in of thesburg for the end he pressed for the next debate. underwayher big race virginia is for u.s. senate. two former governors, tim kaine and george allen. they went head-to-head last night in a debate.

allen onllenged contraception in to widen his lead. a huge jump from just three weeks ago when he only led by 1%. we will tell you who is relying on which voters to the white house. wanted to find out, what the number one issue that polls thisu to the november? >> jobs. [ barack obama ] i'm barack obama, and i approve this message.

[ female announcer ] he says... president obama and i both care about poor and middle-class families. [ female announcer ] but this is what the e budget plan mitt romney supports actually does. more huge tax breaks skewed to the wealthy. while e cutting nearly eight hundred billion from medicaid... even though middle-class families rely on medicaid to help loved ones cover nursing-home care. and it helps parents support children with disabilities. if mitt romney really "cares," wouldn't we see it inin his priorities?

according to an independent, non-partisan study, barack obama and the liberals will raise taxes the mdle class by $4,000. the same organization says the plan from mitt romney and common sense conservatives is "not a tax hike on the middle class." want proof? read the non-partisan study orfor yourself at american.co. obama and his liberal allies? we can't afford four more years.s. i'm mitt romney and i approve this message.

>> welcome back to battleground virginia. of economy is at the center election, and at the center of the economy is small business. talk a lotpaigns how they are going to help small businesses. visited one in loudon county. let's take a look. >> loudon county, virginia, has history of bootleg whiskey. probably find some

still in business there. some legaly whiskey. despite attala lack of experience, scott, a former technician, and his wife, becky, a chemical engineer, started to build their distillery in 2009, in the depths of the recession. put in a lot of personal equity, but there is also help that comes with it. they had a loan from the small business administration. now their top concern is health care. >> is very difficult to find options for company the size of ours. it remains to be seen. about an hour's drive away, visited this real estate office. time they had 20 agents

of three offices, then at the real estate .ubble burst >> when barack obama talks his predecessor's policies responsible, how you respond to that? phooey. >> he has to take responsibility for some of the past four years. don't feel that he is. >> scott and becky harris are k obama.toward barac >> we voted for clinton and in election, we voted for obama. weare, issue on healt theleaning more toward democrat vote on this one. think romney is a strong character, good personality, and

that he would do a better job. >> the economy is not warm and fuzzy. >> in this election, obama is sounding a little more focused jobs and budget cuts rather than investment in the infrastructure and education and think wes i really should focus on. >> they both worry about what for the next generation. >> what discourages me the most that a lot of people have up on the american dream. >> there you have a, romney voters and 0 hot -- and obama are all worried about what is in store for the next generation. >> and national polling reflect that. >> republicans may be relying on

that were once forgotten. >> here are more voters on what important to them as they head to the polls. >> the economy. they head to the polls. >> the[ male announcer ] we the people, the middle class,

who move our country forward, work hard, raise families, and keep america strong. but mitt romney's budget plan will hurt the middle class, raising taxes on the average family by up to $2,000, while giving a tax break of $250,000 to multimillionaires. doesn't mitt romney understand we cacan't rebuild america by tearing down the middle class. priorities usa action is responsible for the content of this advertising. want to start the day with something heart healthy and delicious? you're a talking bee... honey nut cheerios hes whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol.

and it tastes good? sure does! right... ♪ wow. delicious, right? yeah. it's the honey, it makes it taste so... ♪ well, would you look at the time... what's the rush? be happy. be healthy. i"i'm iot in favor of a a$5 trillion tax cut. that's n not my plan." that mitt romney's tax mitcheplan would cost $4.8 tatrillion over 10 years."d vo: why won't romney level with us about his tax plan, which gives the wealthy huge new tax breaks? because according to experts, he'd have to raise taxes on the middle class - or increase the deficit to pay for it. if we can't trust him here... how could we ever trust him here? >> throughout our battleground virginia special, we will take a groups offerent

voters. >> we are breaking down voters by age, gender, and ethnicity. >> are political team includes cooper.uman and rebecca >> we have been inside both headquarters and the races this close. nodar kumaritashvili is taken for granted. they analyze every demographic no voter is taken for granted. whether it is making a pit stop or knocking back a:at a local watering hole, but tap into a very specific block of voters. >> it is still the second most important vote in america. >> second only to white females.

is going tonow what sway me one way or another. mostly i am a democrat, but i made up my mind yet. successfult obama is young, women, hispanic, and black voters. 60%omney needs to get about of the white vote. possible? >> it is very possible. >> he says that is why romney almost to speak about days except the economy. >> many minority areas are used unemployment. historically, that is actually not too bad. under 30 arese

still very much in the obama , summit in the last righton may be looking this time. >> that professor you heard says that mitt romney is bettero have to do much male voters here in virginia, because there are also more african-american voters than the national average. that is once again why virginia swing state that will get all the wayntion to november 6. now let's turn to rebecca falls churchin with a look at why the importantte is more than ever this year. >> president obama had been his lead with women voters here in the commonwealth when this state. with that poll out today, it shows of seismic shift among

voters nationwide. the president had been leading among women by a full 18 percentage points. today it is dead even between men at 47% each. many are undecided or say they .ould change their mind some of the most coveted voters this election year, virginia women. >> across the board with these women, there has been concern over the last four years about what the future is going to be like. they are placed in terms of goingial security, what's happen with their kids, and is going to happen down the in terms of their future in debt. still undecided, she is a busy fall smother -- falls church mother of four. she wants to give obama the benefit of the doubt.

>> i am just on the fence about couple more years. >> for her mom, is an open and shut case. she is strongly pro-life and likes mitt romney. >> we have got to stop the spending. >> in of focus groups, many n voters voice discomfort romney's stance on abortion. >> whatever your particular on abortion, everyone right to choose. obamas president frustrated her more toe has not done her.people like >> a lot of christian moms that stay at home. they are sometimes more savvy about specific issues. >> there is a big worry right

now with defense cuts. >> the polls give mitt romney high marks for winning over voters -- women voters in the last debate. they say in terms of barack obama, he needs to convince women to give him one more chance and the belief that the years will be better than the last. years will be better than the last. withll talk david smallwood: maryland money needs to stay in marylan it's just that simple, i mean, it's a no brainer. anncr: every year marylanders spend five hundred and fifty... million at casinos in west virginia, delaware... and pennsylvania. one west virginia paper calls it a "cash cow" for them.

but its cost maryland over one billion dollars. ney that could have created good jobs and... better schools for us. question seven keepsps maryland money in maryland. david allwood: question seven, i think it will be a... good thing for the state off maryland. am i don't know. any medications? last immunization shots? really? honey, what's my blood pressure medicine called? one time i took something and i blew up like a puffer fish. i'm probably allergic to that. at kaiser permanente, your medical information is available to you and your doctors. ququkly. securely. no guesswork required. better information. better care. kaiserpermanente. thrive. when president obama couldn't. first, my energy independence policy means more than three million new jobs. many othem in manufacturing. mytax reform plan to lower rates for the middle class and for small business

creates seven million more. and expanding trade, cracking down on china, and improving job training takes us to over 12 million new jobs. i'm mitt romney, and i approve this message.

x welcome back to our virginia special. joining us is political editor in chief john harris. first, about the national polls fts.the ships it too early for obama to start freaking out? to ensure that, probably it is. to be realistic, they should probably take a deep breath and that two things are true. mitt romney strong debate r has helpedin denve but it is not at all clear this has changed the less than a month out. there are another 10-12 other election which the

will hinge. there has not been reliable , it is theave seen internal from the campaign that we hear about. hunch is that the race has tightened up in virginia. >> with parts of the state are in play? theorthern virginia, both inner suburbs in arlington and elder areasnd the of prince william and loudon county. it used to be very conservative, very reliable republican territory. it is no surprise when we see these candidates come to town, go out to manassas or in the sterling area. that is a big battleground. the coattail effect?

but itbviously matters, seems from the polling we have up, not by an is impossible margin for george allen, but by a clear margin. i think george allen has to and he will not help from mitt romney. tim kaine initially had been obama would barack be dragging him down, but i think we have seen evidence of that. >> always a pleasure, thank you so much. pamela howze: it just seems like such an... infringement on our lives. how dare they step into my life that way. it's none of their business.

he's trying to restrict us, again. he's taking us backwards. george allen is the last thing we need in washington. anncr: the democratic senatorial campaign comeettee is... responsible for the content of this advertising.

i"i'm not in favor of a a$5 trillion tax cut. that's not my plan." mitchell: "the nonpartisan tax policy center concluded that mitt romney's tax plan would cost $4.8 trillion over 10r ears."

vo: why won't romney level with us about his tax plan, which gives the wealthy huge new tax breaks? because according to experts, he'd have to raise taxes on the middle class - or increase the deficit to pay for it. if we can't trust t him here... how could we ever trust him here? >> that does it for our first virginia special. thanks for watching. -- our first battleground thanks for watching. -- our first battleground

catch the great taste of pumpkin before it's gone. hurry into dkin' donuts and grab a pumpkin muffin or donut today. america runs on dunkin'. according to an independent, non-partisan study, barack obama and the liberals will raise taxes on the middle class by $4,000. the same organization says the plan from mitt romney and common sense conservatives is "not a tax hike on the middle class." want proof? read the non-partisan study for yourself at american.com. obama andnd his liberal allie? we can't afford four more years.

i'm mitt romney and i approve this message. this is "jeopardy!" introducing today's contestants -- a graduate student of library science from chillicothe, ohio...