Barack Obama & Mitt Romney

President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney battled down to the wire on Tuesday, mounting a last-minute Election Day drive to get their supporters to the polls in a handful of states that will decide the winner in a neck-and-neck race for the White House.

Capping a long and bitter presidential campaign, Americans cast their votes at polling stations across the country. At least 120 million people were expected to render judgment on whether to give Obama a second term or replace him with Romney.

Their decision will set the country's course for the next four years on spending, taxes, healthcare and foreign policy challenges like the rise of China and Iran's nuclear ambitions.

National opinion polls show Obama and Romney in a virtual dead heat, although the Democratic incumbent has a slight advantage in several vital swing states - most notably Ohio - that could give him the 270 electoral votes needed to win the state-by-state contest.

Romney, the multimillionaire former head of a private equity firm, would be the first Mormon president and one of the wealthiest Americans to occupy the White House.

Obama, the country's first black president, seeks to avoid being relegated to a single term, something that has happened to only one of the previous three occupants of the White House.

Whichever candidate wins, a razor-thin margin would not bode well for the clear mandate needed to help break the partisan gridlock in Washington.

Romney voted at a community center near his home in a Boston suburb, before dashing off for a pair of last-minute stops, including Ohio. "I feel great about Ohio," he said when asked about a state that is considered a must-win for him.

Underscoring the importance both campaigns have placed on Ohio, Vice President Joe Biden landed in Cleveland for a surprise visit just minutes after Romney touched down, in what looked like an attempt to steal the Republican's thunder.

Romney stayed onboard until Biden's motorcade cleared the tarmac, which soon became even more crowded when Romney running mate Paul Ryan's plane landed.

Settling into his hometown of Chicago, Obama made a final pitch to morning commuters in toss-up states that have been an almost obsessive focus of both campaigns, and made a surprise visit to a local field office staffed with volunteers.

"Four years ago, we had incredible turnout," Obama told a Miami radio station in a pre-recorded interview. "I know people were excited and energized about the prospect of making history, but we have to preserve the gains we've made."

He called a hip-hop music station in Tampa, Florida, in a final outreach to African-American supporters, saying that voting was "central to moving our community forward."

Fueled by record spending on negative ads, the battle between the two men was focused primarily on the lagging economic recovery and persistently high unemployment, but at times it also turned personal.President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney battled down to the wire on Tuesday, mounting a last-minute Election Day drive to get their supporters to the polls in a handful of states that will decide the winner in a neck-and-neck race for the White House.

Capping a long and bitter presidential campaign, Americans cast their votes at polling stations across the country. At least 120 million people were expected to render judgment on whether to give Obama a second term or replace him with Romney.

Their decision will set the country's course for the next four years on spending, taxes, healthcare and foreign policy challenges like the rise of China and Iran's nuclear ambitions.

National opinion polls show Obama and Romney in a virtual dead heat, although the Democratic incumbent has a slight advantage in several vital swing states - most notably Ohio - that could give him the 270 electoral votes needed to win the state-by-state contest.

Romney, the multimillionaire former head of a private equity firm, would be the first Mormon president and one of the wealthiest Americans to occupy the White House.

Obama, the country's first black president, seeks to avoid being relegated to a single term, something that has happened to only one of the previous three occupants of the White House.

Whichever candidate wins, a razor-thin margin would not bode well for the clear mandate needed to help break the partisan gridlock in Washington.

Romney voted at a community center near his home in a Boston suburb, before dashing off for a pair of last-minute stops, including Ohio. "I feel great about Ohio," he said when asked about a state that is considered a must-win for him.

Underscoring the importance both campaigns have placed on Ohio, Vice President Joe Biden landed in Cleveland for a surprise visit just minutes after Romney touched down, in what looked like an attempt to steal the Republican's thunder.

Romney stayed onboard until Biden's motorcade cleared the tarmac, which soon became even more crowded when Romney running mate Paul Ryan's plane landed.

Settling into his hometown of Chicago, Obama made a final pitch to morning commuters in toss-up states that have been an almost obsessive focus of both campaigns, and made a surprise visit to a local field office staffed with volunteers.

"Four years ago, we had incredible turnout," Obama told a Miami radio station in a pre-recorded interview. "I know people were excited and energized about the prospect of making history, but we have to preserve the gains we've made."

He called a hip-hop music station in Tampa, Florida, in a final outreach to African-American supporters, saying that voting was "central to moving our community forward."

Fueled by record spending on negative ads, the battle between the two men was focused primarily on the lagging economic recovery and persistently high unemployment, but at times it also turned personal.
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