初步结果显示佛罗里达选情胶着

President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney were locked in a tight race in Florida, early election results showed, as voters expressed lingering concerns about the economy and the direction the country is headed.

当地时间周二晚间，美国总统奥巴马(Barack Obama)和共和党总统候选人罗姆尼(Mitt Romney)在佛罗里达的选情陷于胶着，同时奥巴马得到振奋人心的消息：他赢得了宾夕法尼亚和密歇根州。

With about two-thirds of precincts reporting in the coveted battleground of Florida, the president and his Republican challenger were in a virtual tie. In Virginia, another hard-fought state, Mr. Romney was leading with more than half of precincts reporting, while Mr. Obama was leading in Ohio, a state considered critical for both sides.

在竞争激烈的摇摆州佛罗里达，约90%的选区报告计票结果，奥巴马和罗姆尼几乎打成平手。弗吉尼亚是又一个双方激烈争夺的州，四分之三选区报告计票结果，罗姆尼形成了领先优势；奥巴马在俄亥俄领先，该州被认为对双方都至关重要。

Returns from some strongly Republican or Democratic states came in as expected. Mr. Romney won Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, Indiana, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi while Mr. Obama won Vermont, Illinois, Connecticut, Maine, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Rhode Island, Maryland, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts.

在很多强烈倾向于共和党或民主党的州，初步计票结果都没有出人意料。罗姆尼赢得密西西比、阿肯色、内布拉斯加、怀俄明、堪萨斯、路易斯安纳、南达科他、得克萨斯、北达科他、田纳西、肯塔基、西弗吉尼亚、印第安纳、南卡罗来纳、俄克拉荷马、亚拉巴马和犹他州，奥巴马赢得纽约、新泽西、佛蒙特、伊利诺伊、康涅狄格、缅因、哥伦比亚特区、特拉华、罗得岛、马里兰和马萨诸塞州。

Mr. Obama also won Michigan, Mr. Romney's birthplace, which had been seen as a likely pickup for the president.

奥巴马还赢得新罕布什尔州，但他更重要的胜利则是在宾夕法尼亚州。竞选后期，随着共和党人开始在当地投入时间和资源，宾州成为双方激烈争夺的战常罗姆尼阵营制定了通过宾州迂回取胜的方案，认为他们在当地与奥巴马的差距已经缩小，可以轻易拿下。

Polls were closed in much of the country as of 9 p.m. Eastern time, while voting continued in mountain and Pacific states, after a day that saw long lines at many polling places around the country. Waits in some places were reported at two hours or more.

罗姆尼在宾州的拉票活动一直持续到最后。他在周二下午造访匹兹堡，之后在选举之夜回到波士顿。

Most voters rated the condition of the nation's economy as 'not so good' or 'poor,' and a slight majority said the country is 'seriously off on the wrong track,' according to an early wave of exit polls released Tuesday.

奥巴马还赢得了密歇根。虽然该州没被视为一线战场，但它是罗姆尼的出生地，共和党在竞选后期向当地投入了资源。罗姆尼阵营的顾问说，他们的候选人在当地将很有竞争力，但在密歇根投票站关闭之后数分钟，根据预测，奥巴马成为该州的赢家。

But the first glimpse of the 2012 electorate yielded conflicting messages, as many previous polls had, with a small majority saying that they have a favorable opinion of Mr. Obama. Fewer voters held favorable opinions of Mr. Romney, the exit polls found, and just more than half said the Republican's policies favored the rich.

截至美国东部时间晚上9点，全国很多地区的投票站已经关闭，山区和太平洋沿岸地区还在投票。白天全国很多投票站都排起了长龙。据报道，某些投票站的等候时间达两小时甚至更久。

Early exit surveys also revealed a divided electorate in the states that will decide the winner of this election. In Ohio, perhaps the biggest prize among the swing states, voters were nearly evenly split on the question of who would better handle the economy, and a majority said former president George W. Bush was more to blame than Mr. Obama for current economic problems.

选后民调显示美国经济形势仍然是选民的关注重点。从周二发布的多项初步选后民调来看，多数选民都认为目前美国经济形势“不是很好或“很差，占微弱多数的选民表示美国严重偏离正轨。

In Florida, the two candidates had similar favorability ratings, but more voters said Mr. Romney was the better choice for handling the economy. In Virginia, just more than half of voters had positive feelings about the Obama administration, but Mr. Romney still had the edge on the question of handling the economy.

但这些选后民调跟之前的民调结果一样，也传递出相互矛盾的信息。选后民调显示，对奥巴马有好感的选民占微弱多数，对罗姆尼有好感的选民较少，略超半数的选民表示共和党的政策偏袒富人。

Messrs. Romney and Obama entered Election Day locked in a near-dead heat, with both candidates expressing confidence that their supporters would deliver a win. Ultimately, voters in a handful of battleground states will have the final say in what has been the most expensive presidential contest in history. Polls suggest that decision day could stretch into a long night.

初步选后民调还显示，在即将决定这次选举胜负的几个州，选民也是各有各的投票意向。俄亥俄州恐怕是摇摆州当中最值得争夺的一个，而在谁会更好地管理经济这个问题上，当地选民差不多是一半对一半。同时多数选民说，当前的经济问题应更多归咎于前总统布什(George W. Bush)，而不是奥巴马。

在佛罗里达，两位候选人的支持率相当，但更多选民表示罗姆尼是管理经济的最佳人眩在弗吉尼亚，略超半数的选民对奥巴马政府有好感，但在管理经济的问题上，罗姆尼仍旧享有优势。

进入选举日之时，罗姆尼和奥巴马的选情几乎不相上下，两位候选人都表示信相他们的支持者会让自己获胜。归根结底，这次史上最昂贵总统竞选的最后决定权还是掌握在几个摇摆州的选民手里。从民调结果来看，最终结果可能要到深夜才能见分晓。