USA Today Poll: McCain With 4 Point Lead, 10 Over Obama With Likely Voters
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
September 8, 2008
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — A new national poll conducted by Gallup for USA Today finds Senator John McCain leading his pro-abortion rival Barack Obama by five percentage points. The survey indicates McCain has a lead of 10 percent with the voters who are most likely to head to the polls in November.
The poll expands on two others showing McCain with leads of four and five percentage points and reflecting a substantial post-convention, post-Sarah Palin bounce.
McCain has a 50-46 percent lead over Obama with registered voters, his biggest advantage in the Gallup non-tracking poll since January. It is also a substantial turnaround from the USA Today/Gallup poll taken before the GOP convention showing his down seven percent.
The survey, taken Friday to Sunday and reflecting the entire convention bounce, shows McCain ahead of Obama 54-44 percent with likely voters.
The USA Today poll also showed McCain’s choosing the pro-life Alaska governor has helped him close the "enthusiasm gap" where Obama backers had been more excited about their candidate than McCain supporters.
Before the convention, Republicans by 47%-39% were less enthusiastic than usual about voting. Now, they are more enthusiastic by 60%-24%, a sweeping change that narrows a key Democratic advantage. Democrats report being more enthusiastic by 67%-19%.
The poll also found that voters favored Obama on the economy by 19 percent and that lead has closed to 3 percent.
Palin also gives McCain a net gain with 29 percent saying they are more likely to support him as a result of her inclusion on the ticket and 21 percent saying less likely — an 8 percent net gain.
Obama’s choosing pro-abortion running mate Joe Biden only gave him a 7 percent net gain.
A second poll released Monday, from Rasmussen Reports, shows McCain with a smaller one percentage point lead of 47-46 over Obama and 48-47 percent with leaners included.
Still, that’s a swing from the six percent lead Obama had in the poll after the Democratic convention.
Rasmussen shows McCain leading among men by four points while Obama leads with women by three – a drop from his 14 percent lead with women in the prior poll.
Rasmussen indicates McCain also has a lead among certain voters with 41 percent saying they will definitely vote for McCain and just 38 percent saying they are assuredly voting for Obama.
McCain is now viewed favorably by 60 percent and Obama has a 55 percent favorable rating.
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