WASHINGTON --The latest polls show that the U.S. presidential candidates are very close, with a slight edge for Texas Gov. George W. Bush. The Electoral College is also evenly divided, although Vice President Al Gore had maintained a small advantage for weeks. Now it is also within the statistical margins of error, state by state.
The landscape has changed from earlier predictions and many more states are very questionable at this late date. That is the big change. Usually there are just a few battleground states; now there are more than a dozen. That spreads the time and attention that the candidates have to devote to trouble areas.
Bush still has his base in the South and West. He is challenging in all of the states in the old rust belt, except for Illinois. He is being challenged in Florida -- once thought to be safely in his camp.