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October 8, 2012 7:12 AM EST

GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney appears to have stolen the lead from President Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential election, according to right-leaning Rasmussen polls.

Reuters

2012 GOP presdential nominee Mitt Romney.

Rasmussen’s daily presidential tracking poll for Sunday reports that 49 percent of voters nationwide support Romney, compared with 47 percent favoring Obama. Just 2 percent of voters are still undecided, while another 2 percent prefer some other candidate.

Rasmussen’s poll is based on interviews conducted after the first 2012 presidential debate on Wednesday night. Snap polls last week reported that a majority of voters believed Romney won the debate and had performed much better than expected.

The question remains as to whether Romney can keep the momentum going. He will debate Obama twice more before the Nov. 6 election.

The numbers reflect a modest debate bounce for Romney,” according to Rasmussen Reports. “As with all bounces, it remains to be seen whether it is a temporary blip or signals a lasting change in the race.”

President Obama has attacked Romney’s debate performance, saying that Romney wasn’t entirely honest about the policies he favored in the debate. At a rally the day after the event, Obama criticized Romney for supporting a $5 trillion tax cut, from which Romney has since distanced himself.

Obama's critics have knocked the president, saying he missed numerous opportunities in the debate to be more aggressive toward Romney and call out the Republican on his flip flops, or constantly changing positions.

Obama’s camp has said it will adjust its strategy in the upcoming debates.

We met a new Mitt Romney,” Robert Gibbs, a senior Obama advisor, said on "Meet The Press."

“We met a Mitt Romney that wanted to walk away from the central theory of his economic plan, which is his tax cut," Gibbs said. "If somebody says absolutely anything to get elected, you have to wonder what they’re going to say when they’re president of the United States.

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2012 GOP presdential nominee Mitt Romney.

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