• Most Popular
  • Most Shared

Obama has slim 2-point lead on McCain

NASHVILLE, Tennessee
Wed Oct 8, 2008 12:41pm EDT

Related News

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has a slim 2-point lead on Republican rival John McCain in a tight White House race, according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll released on Wednesday.

Barack Obama

Obama led McCain by 47 percent to 45 percent in the national poll, within the margin of error of 2.8 percentage points. Obama led by 3 points in Tuesday's poll.

Four percent of voters said they were still undecided.

The daily tracking poll, which will sample public opinion until the November 4 election, showed Obama leading among two crucial swing voting blocs. He has a 9-point advantage among independents and a 7-point edge among women.

"This race is at equilibrium," pollster John Zogby said, adding neither candidate has been able to take full advantage of voter unhappiness with the country's direction.

"We are seeing an electorate that is frustrated with Washington," he said.

Obama has solidified his lead in most national polls in recent weeks as the Wall Street crisis focused attention on the economy, an area of strength for the Illinois senator.

Zogby's poll was taken Sunday through Tuesday, with the calls concluding before McCain and Obama tangled over taxes and the economic crisis during the second of their three scheduled debates on Tuesday in Nashville, Tennessee.

Independent Ralph Nader and Libertarian Bob Barr each registered support from 1 percent of respondents in the poll.

The rolling tracking poll surveyed 1,220 likely voters in the presidential election. In a tracking poll, the most recent day's results are added while the oldest day's results are dropped in an effort to track changing momentum.

(Editing by Bill Trott)



More from Reuters

A customer is served at a counter inside a foreign exchange store displaying a poster of various banknotes including the Chinese yuan or renminbi (RMB) in Hong Kong November 20, 2009. REUTERS/Bobby Yip
OUTLOOK 2010:

Be careful what you wish for

Pressure on China to loosen its grip on the yuan will continue but the U.S. should tread carefully. Here are five world market issues to watch.  Full Article 

Aurora, a 20-year-old Beluga whale, swims with her newborn calf after giving birth at the Vancouver Aquarium in Vancouver, British Columbia June 7, 2009. REUTERS/Andy Clark

365 days for the doomed

From polar bears to emperor penguins, endangered species will get top online billing in 2010 during the Year of Biodiversity.  Full Article