Obama Holds Lead Over McCain in Polls, Gets Boost From Powell
Jim Higgins
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aBPvNUZg_D2Q&refer=home
Oct. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Barack Obama is maintaining a lead in national
and state polls as he and John McCain focus on a handful of states that
will be crucial in deciding the Nov. 4 presidential election.
With a little more than two weeks to go before Election Day, Obama, the
Democratic nominee, was ahead of McCain, the Republican candidate, by
five percentage points in the average of polls compiled by the Web site
Realclearpolitics.com. That's a two point decline from a week ago, when
Obama led by an average of seven percentage points.
Obama is challenging McCain, an Arizona senator, in Republican
territory, holding rallies in Virginia, Missouri and yesterday in North
Carolina. McCain was in the battleground state of Ohio yesterday after
having made stops in Florida, North Carolina and Virginia.
Obama was leading in polls conducted in Colorado, Nevada and Missouri,
all won by Republican George W. Bush in the last two elections. McCain,
meanwhile, was ahead in the Republican strongholds of Georgia, Texas,
Mississippi and Wyoming. Two surveys in Florida came up with opposite
results as to who is in front. A poll in Ohio showed the race in a dead
heat.
Powell Endorsement
In addition to maintaining momentum in the polls, Obama captured the
endorsement yesterday of Colin Powell. The former Army general who
served in three Republican administrations announced he is supporting
Obama, probably enhancing the senator's standing to be commander-in-chief.
Powell called Obama a ``transformational figure'' on NBC's ``Meet the
Press'' yesterday.
Former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich said on ABC's ``This
Week'' program the Powell endorsement is significant.
``What that just did in one sound-bite -- and I assume that sound-bite
will end up in an ad -- is it eliminated the experience argument,''
Gingrich said yesterday. ``How are you going to say the former chairman
of the Joint Chiefs, former national security adviser, former secretary
of state was taken in?''
In Virginia, three polls taken in the past week show Obama with an
average lead of about six percentage points. The state has gone
Republican in the last 10 elections.
``I feel real good about our chances right now,'' Governor Tim Kaine, a
Democrat and co-chairman of Obama's campaign, said in an interview on
Bloomberg Television's ``Political Capital With Al Hunt.''
National Polls
Three national polls released this weekend showed Obama with a lead
while a fourth suggested a statistical dead heat.
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll, conducted Oct.
16-18, showed Obama with 51 percent support to 45 percent for McCain. It
surveyed 3,000 individuals and has a margin of error of plus or minus
two percentage points.
Obama led McCain nationwide 50 percent to 42 percent in the Gallup
poll's daily tracking survey of registered voters. Obama's margin in the
survey has narrowed in the past week from as much as 10 points. Among
those who said they were likely to vote, Obama's lead was four
percentage points. The poll contacted 2,796 registered voters Oct. 15-17
and has a sampling error of plus or minus two percentage points.
A poll of 797 likely voters conducted by National Journal's Hotline and
Diageo put Obama's support at 49 percent and McCain's at 42 percent. The
margin of error for the survey conducted Oct. 15-17 was 3.5 percentage
points.
In a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby daily tracking poll, Obama led 48 percent to
45 percent, within the margin of error. The phone survey of 1,210 likely
voters was conducted Oct. 15-18.
North Carolina Poll
Forty-six percent of likely voters in North Carolina support McCain
compared with 44 percent for Obama, within the Research 2000's margin of
error of plus or minus four percentage points. The poll, conducted Oct.
14-15, included 600 of the state's likely voters.
In Minnesota, Obama leads with 52 percent of likely voters to McCain's
41 percent, according to a Star Tribune Minnesota poll. The survey,
conducted Oct. 16-17, included 1,049 likely voters and had a margin of
error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.
In Ohio, an NBC/Mason-Dixon poll shows the race tied, with McCain at 46
percent support and Obama at 45 percent. The poll, conducted of 625
likely voters from Oct. 16-17, has a margin of error of plus or minus
four percentage points.
McCain leads Obama in two West Virginia polls released yesterday, 47-41
percent in an NBC/Mason-Dixon survey and 50-42 percent according to
Public Policy Polling. The NBC survey of 625 likely voters was taken
Oct. 16-17 with a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage
points. The latter poll, conducted Oct. 16-17, included 1,223 likely
voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.
--
Civis Romanus Sum
Vanden
number of people who think McCain, if elected, will mostly carry out
President Bush's policies. Forty-nine percent of those questioned in the new
survey say McCain would mostly carry out Bush's policies, down from 56
percent in the previous poll
CNN
Jim Higgins" <gordi...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
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