Obama wins battleground states of Michigan, Pennsylvania— networks

U.S. citizens vote in the presidential election at Carleton Middle School November 6, 2012 in Sterling Heights, Michigan. AFP

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama beat out Republican rival Mitt Romney in Michigan and Pennsylvania, US television networks reported Tuesday, in the first result for a slew of battleground states in the White House race.

The projected result was a setback for Romney who had hoped to challenge the Democrats’ hold in Michigan, where he was born and where his father once served as governor, and the home of the country’s auto industry.

MSNBC and Fox television predicted Pennsylvania — which has 20 electoral college votes and which has been solidly Democratic for two decades – had rallied behind Obama as he seeks a second term in the knife-edge race.