Clinton gains steam in tight Ohio and Texas races

By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hillary Clinton gained ground on rival Barack Obama to take a slim lead in Texas and pull even in Ohio before their crucial Democratic presidential showdowns, according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Houston Chronicle poll released on Tuesday.

Clinton needs victories in both big-state battles to keep her candidacy alive and halt Obama's string of 11 consecutive victories in the race to choose the Democratic nominee in November's presidential election.

The New York senator took a 47 percent to 44 percent lead on Obama in Texas, reversing Obama's 3-point edge on Monday. The lead was within the margin of error of 3.4 percentage points.

The race in Ohio was deadlocked at 44 percent in the polling by Zogby International, a slight gain for Clinton from Obama's 2-point edge on Monday.

Clinton has hammered the Illinois senator for days over his readiness to be commander in chief and the sincerity of his pledge to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, an unpopular deal in economically hard-hit Ohio where it is believed to have cost the state manufacturing jobs.

The arguments appear to have helped Clinton make inroads with male voters, particularly white and Hispanic men, as Obama's big early leads among men have dwindled, pollster John Zogby said.

"Her gains have largely been from growth among men," he said. "It looks like the argument about strength and the questions raised about Obama are paying off."

The number of undecided voters grew in each state in the new survey. In Ohio, 8 percent of likely Democratic voters said they were unsure of their choice, up from 6 percent on Monday. In Texas, the number of undecideds grew from 6 to 7 percent overnight.

MORE QUESTIONS

"The growth in undecideds is all at Obama's expense," Zogby said. "There are more questions about him now."

Republican front-runner John McCain, an Arizona senator, appeared to be cruising to victories in both states, which could move him close to clinching the nomination.

McCain has big double-digit leads in both states over his last remaining major rival, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, and the wins could put him close to accumulating the 1,191 delegates needed. The delegates choose the party nominee at the September nominating convention.

In Ohio, McCain leads Huckabee 59 percent to 29 percent, and in Texas he has a 57 percent to 29 percent advantage on Huckabee. Texas Rep. Ron Paul, a libertarian opponent of the Iraq war, has 6 percent in Texas and 5 percent in Ohio.

In the Democratic race, Clinton continued her strong showing among women and older voters. In Texas, she has big leads among the state's sizable bloc of Hispanics, and also performs well among Catholics and lower-income workers in Ohio.

She has taken the lead in Texas among voters just making up their minds in the last few days, a reversal of Obama's edge in that category late last week.