Presidential Race Tight Before First Debate, Poll Shows

As President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney gear up for the first presidential debate this week, a CNN/ORC International poll released Monday shows the president is supported by 50 percent of likely voters nationwide and Romney by 47 percent of likely voters. The 3-point difference is within the poll's margin of error.

All seven of the nationwide polls released Monday show Obama ahead by between 2 to 4 points.

From CNN's Political Ticker blog:

In the CNN/ORC poll, the national horse race stands pretty much where it was just before the two back-to-back party conventions in late August and early September.

"That's a strong suggestion that whatever bounce President Obama received from his convention has, as expected, faded away," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "That's why they call them 'bounces'."

Voter enthusiasm has ticked up in both parties since the network's last poll. Thirty-nine percent of Democrats and 38 percent of Republicans said they were extremely enthusiastic about voting for the president, compared to 30 percent of Democrats and 32 percent of Republicans in early September.

The CNN/ORC poll surveyed 783 likely voters by phone between Sept. 28 and Sept. 30, with a 3.5 percent margin of error.