10-18-04 - WASHINGTON (AP) Election Day is a little over two weeks away, and the race for the White House remains an extremely tight battle. Over the weekend, a series of polls either made the race a dead heat, or narrowly tilted in President Bush's favor, despite the round of debates in which surveys indicated John Kerry came out on top.

But in the battleground states, roughly eight states where the campaigns are actually competing, the race is tighter than ever.

So the two candidates are crisscrossing Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania and the others and their campaigns and allies are flooding the airwaves with ads; an estimated 35 million dollars' worth this week alone.

President Bush signs a bill this morning giving the Homeland Security Department about 33 billion dollars. The signing dovetails with Bush's New Jersey speech on terrorism. Bush officials say he'll repeat his mockery of John Kerry's remarks in the New York Times earlier this month.

John Kerry is in Florida, where he'll detail his solution to preventing another flu vaccine shortage. Floridians start voting today under a new system and Kerry and thousands of volunteers are campaigning for those precious ballots. The presidential race is neck and neck.