swing states
Obama, Romney tour swing states in final push
US President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney have begun a final countdown of campaigning in key battleground states. Obama is making 8 stops in 7 states across the country over the weekend.
Romney campaigned in 3 states on Saturday, including Iowa in the Midwest. On Saturday, Obama spoke before an audience of 4,000 in Ohio. He said the election was a choice between 2 different visions for the United States -- the top down approach that crashed the economy or a future built on a strong and growing middle class.
He said that now is the time to move forward and he wants to fight for the people. Former US president Bill Clinton and musician Stevie Wonder are scheduled to join Obama's campaign on Sunday.
During an address in Iowa, Romney criticized Obama for increasing instead of reducing the economic burden on the public, despite his promise of change 4 years ago. Romney said he wants to bring real change to the United States and lead the country in the right direction.
Opinion polls show that the 2 candidates are in a dead heat ahead of Tuesday's election.
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20121104_08.html
標記の表現は、swing votersという言い方からも推測できるように、民主党、共和党のそれぞれの候補が決定的な支持を得られないまま、結果がどちらになるのかわからない、まさにswingする州のことを意味します。記事ではその言い換えのbattleground statesも使われています（cf. Blue states、Red States）。（UG）
