Two Ties For Obama: In Texas With Clinton, Nationally With McCain
Here’s a Poll Tracker two-fer: CNN/Opinion Research says its latest Texas poll has Barack Obama in a virtual tie with Hillary Clinton, leading her 50 percent to 46 percent, but with a 3.5 percent margin of error. And USA Today/Gallup says its new general election match-up shows John McCain neck-and-neck with Obama at 48 percent to 47 percent, with a 3 point margin of error. However, Hillary Clinton would also be competitive with McCain. He leads her by 50 percent to 46 percent.
It should be noted that an Associated Press/Ipsos poll conducted Feb.22-24 showed noticeably different results than Gallup in the hypothetical national match-ups. Obama leads McCain 51 percent to 41 percent, and Clinton bests him too, 48 percent to 43 percent. The margin of error is 3.1 percent.
The Texas numbers represent a 2 point gain for Obama and 4 point loss since CNN’s poll last Monday. On the GOP side, McCain bests Mike Huckabee 56 percent to 31 percent. The poll was conducted Feb.22-24. There were some other polls on Texas (and Ohio) today that you can check out here.
CNN Polling Director Keating Holland said Clintons two-thirds majority about Hispanic voters is being offset in part by the fact that Obama is winning 8 out of 10 black votes plus a respectable share of Hispanic votes.
Both Republicans and Democrats agree that the economy is the most important campaign issue. But health care was number two for Democrats while the runner-up for Republicans was illegal immigration.
On the national poll, Gallup says that although the political landscape this year appears to strongly favor the Democrats, McCain is able to make a strong showing because of his ability to attract support beyond his own party. McCain attracts more support from Democrats than either Democrat gets among Republicans, and he is competitive with Obama among independents. Clinton lags McCain on that score. The poll was conducted Feb.21-24.