JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Eric Allen was 18 and voting in his first presidential election when he chose Barack Obama over John McCain. Four years older now and looking for a job, he is just the kind of voter Republican Mitt Romney needs to win – and win big – in northeast Florida's Duval County and take the most coveted of the toss-up states.

"I voted for him last time just to see the change," Allen says of Obama, "and there was no change."

For Lashawn Williams, the excitement she felt from Obama's first run is still there in spite of an economy in the doldrums. The 39-year-old bank employee is volunteering for the re-election campaign – and telling those who are frustrated with the president that the blame is misplaced.