GILLESPIE TELLS CO-HOST CHARLIE ROSE, “GOVERNOR ROMNEY AND PRESIDENT OBAMA REMAIN CLOSE, BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT OBAMA’S NUMBERS, HE’S CONSISTENTLY SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 44 AND 47%, WHICH HISTORICALLY IS A DANGER ZONE FOR AN INCUMBENT PRESIDENT RUNNING FOR REELECTION”

Ed Gillespie, senior adviser to the Romney campaign, discussed what he expects will transpire before November’s election with co-host Charlie Rose, live today, June 12, 2012, on CBS THIS MORNING on the CBS Television Network (7:00 AM – 9:00 AM).

Below is an excerpt from the interview.

ROSE: Where is this contest between Governor Romney and President Obama right now, in terms of when your own political instincts look at?

GILLESPIE: I think this is going to be a close contest throughout, and, as you know, the country's pretty evenly divided. As you look at the nationwide surveys and critical swing states that will make a difference in terms of the electoral college outcome. Governor Romney and President Obama remain close, but when you look at Obama's numbers he's consistently somewhere between 44 and 47%, which historically is a danger zone for an incumbent president running for reelection.

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Chris Licht is Vice President of Programming, CBS News, and Executive Producer of CBS THIS MORNING.

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