Presidential Debate 2012: Obama, Mitt Romney Face Off In Colorado (LIVE UPDATES)

LIVE UPDATES: Obama, Romney Rumble In The Rockies

President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are in the spotlight on Wednesday night as they face off in their first debate at the University of Denver in Colorado.

Ahead of the event, polls showed the race for the White House tightening in the key battleground states of Florida and Virginia. Speculation has swirled over whether the debate could produce a shift in the contest.

HuffPost's Mark Blumenthal reports:

Republican pollster and HuffPost Pollster contributor Steve Lombardo argues, for example, that Romney is likely to get a "bounce" from the debates due to outsized expectations for Obama.

But political scientist and HuffPost contributor Thomas Holbrook crunches the past polling numbers and finds that debates rarely shift candidate support by more than a percentage point or two.

Below, a live blog of the latest developments to unfold.

Before You Go

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