As polls shift back and forth, President Obama appears to enjoy a lead over Mitt Romney in the one contest that really counts: The Electoral College.

Obama is currently the favorite in states with 247 electoral votes, while Romney is in line for 206, according to an analysis by the Associated Press.

It takes 270 electoral votes to win the White House.

AP says its projections are based on "polls, ad spending and key developments in states, along with interviews with more than a dozen Republican and Democratic strategists both inside and outside of the two campaigns."

As it stands now, the election would be decided in seven close states with a total of 85 electoral votes, AP reports: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio and Virginia.

From the AP report: