Clinton’s Lead Over Obama Dwindles Further
Hillary Clinton’s national lead over Barack Obama has been whittled to its smallest margin so far this year. She garners 44 percent of the Democratic vote to Obama’s 41 percent, a difference equal to the poll’s margin of error. The survey was conducted Jan. 29-31, so still included John Edwards in part of the survey. He had 4 percent. Gallup says the data suggests Obama may have gained slightly more than Clinton from his withdrawal.
On the GOP side, John McCain maintains a 39 percent to 24 percent lead over Mitt Romney with Mike Huckabee at 17 percent. As expected, McCain was the primary beneficiary of Rudy Giuliani’s withdrawal.
American Research Group has polls out today for Connecticut and Illinois. All polls have a 4 percent margin of error.
– **Connecticut:** In a Jan. 30-31 sample, Clinton leads Obama 48 percent to 37 percent, a much different result than a Jan. 28 Rasmussen Reports poll that had them tied. McCain leads Romney 43 percent to 25 percent with Huckabee at 12 percent (less than undecided who numbered 16 percent).
– **Illinois:**Obama leads Clinton in his home state by 51 percent to 40 percent. Among Republicans, McCain leads Romney 48 percent to 34 percent, with Huckabee at just 3 percent.