Final Des Moines Register Iowa Poll: Obama Up 5 Points Over Romney

The final Iowa Poll before Election Day shows President Obama up 5 percentage points over Mitt Romney in the state.

The Des Moines Register Iowa Poll shows that Iowans are feeling more optimistic about where the nation is headed, and they're giving the president the credit, favoring him over Romney 47 percent to 42 percent.

Iowa's economy has been strong. The unemployment rate is 5.5 percent, well below the national average, personal incomes are up 6.4 percent over a year ago and housing permits and sales are up almost 25 percent.

Obama barely edges Romney on the question of which candidate would do the best job of fixing the economy, the primary argument of Romney’s campaign, the poll shows.

Losing Iowa's six Electoral College votes would severely complicate Romney's path to the White House, particularly if he also loses Ohio, where the most recent presidential polls show Obama with a 3- to 6-point lead.

Democratic pollster Margie Omero said: “If Romney can’t catch up here, he probably can’t catch up elsewhere. Without Iowa and Ohio, Romney’s path to victory is incredibly narrow.”

GOP strategist David Polyansky countered that Romney can and will win the White House, with or without Iowa.

“There is no doubt winning Iowa would be a fantastic plus for Governor Romney,” he told the newspaper. “However, more than one pathway exists for the governor that does not necessarily include Iowa.”

The poll of 800 Iowa likely voters was conducted by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines from Tuesday through Friday and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

“There are things that could happen today and Monday that would shape the final outcome,” said pollster J. Ann Selzer. “Nobody need be over-confident.”