Nightly News   |  November 05, 2012

Virginia remains a toss up

The state with 13 electoral votes could go either way in this election, and may play a critical role in determining not only the next president, but also which party will control the U.S. Senate. NBC’s Tom Costello reports.

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>> tom costello with us from richmond, virginia , tom, good evening.

>> reporter: hi there, brian, this state with the 13 electoral votes used to be republican, but of course went for president obama in 2008 and it is still very much in play here this year. we can also tell you that it was not a coincidence, of course, that governor romney chose norfolk, virginia as place to unveil his vice presidential running mate, paul ryan , both of them were here today. here is the latest, the wall street journal poll for virginia , showing president obama ahead by just a single point, the same margin, rather, in our national poll. obama is counting on a big voter turnout in fairfax, county, in the voter-rich areas of northern virginia . he is also hoping for a turnout in loudoun and prince william counties. meanwhile, mitt romney is hoping to make inroads there, while insuring that his base, the red states come out to vote for him. we also have a very close senate race to tell you about, two are up by three points now. so in the end, this state could make a big difference on who wins the white house .

>> all right, tom costello, now