Read the full Gallup poll

The latest Gallup tracking poll, conducted Jan. 30-Feb. 1, shows John McCain widening his lead in the Republican race with a closer contest on the Democratic side, although Hillary Clinton slightly added to her margin over Barack Obama since Friday’s poll.

Benefiting from Rudy Giuliani’s withdrawal, McCain gained five points to lead Mitt Romney 44 percent to 24 percent with Mike Huckabee way back at 16 percent. The New York Times has a story today aptly headlined, “Romney Maps A Strategy For Survival.”

In the Democratic race, Clinton leads Obama 48 percent to 41 percent, improving from the 3 point and 4 point leads she held earlier this week. Polls of Super Tuesday states as well as national polls over the last week or so have tended to show Clinton ahead on both levels of the race, but with Obama narrowing the gap. The question is whether he has the time, which is the subject of a piece in the Washington Post today, “Obama Is Racing Against The Clock.”

To read about the top issues in this campaign region-by-region, check out CQ Politics’ summaries for the Northeast,
South and the Midwest, with more installments yet to come on the rest of the states.