HispanicBusiness

In the week previous to the Republican Party convention, a statement on rape, by a Republican candidate to the Senate, turned the campaign's attention to so called social, as opposed to economic issues.

Previously, the designation by Gov. Mitt Romney of U.S. Rep Paul Ryan as his running mate moved the campaign's agenda toward fiscal issues. Then, the expectation was that economic issues would continue dominating the electoral debate.

The last Washington Post-ABC News poll, conducted Aug. 22-25, confirmed that as many as 72 percent of registered voters polled still consider the economy as the "major factor" influencing their decision to vote in the coming election. No other issue came close to this overwhelming dominance of the economy.

For instance, on handling the economy, Romney is ahead among registered voters by about seven percentage points. But President Obama has a similar advantage when registered voters are asked who has a better understanding of the financial problems confronted by citizens.

Therefore, none of the candidates appear to be gaining approval based on economic concerns. The Post-ABC poll reveals that if the presidential election were held today, 46 percent of those registered voters polled would vote for Obama, while 47 percent would vote for Romney.

Seventy days before the election, voters are still evenly divided over who is more capable of dealing with their economic concerns.

Isaac Cohen is an international analyst and consultant, a commentator on economic and financial issues for CNN en Español TV and radio, and a former director, UNECLAC Washington Office.