The latest Quinnipiac national poll shows that, if the election were held today, voters would significantly prefer Barack Obama (47-40 percent) or Hillary Rodham Clinton (46-41 percent) over John McCain. The margin of error was +/- 2.4 percent.

The gap was wider for independent voters, thought to be McCain’s strength. They picked Obama over McCain, 48-37 percent. But when the matchup was with Clinton, the independents preferred neither, each getting 41 percent.

Democrats overwhelmingly (60-33) favored an Obama-Clinton ticket over any other matchup. At the same time, Democrats continue to want Clinton to stay in the race (63-34).

“Sen. Hillary Clinton’s never-say-die campaign still has lots of fans. Just as in delegates, states, money, you-name-it, Obama leads her in national support – but only by a bit,” said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

The telephone survey was conducted May 8-12, after the Indiana and North Carolina primaries and before the West Virginia primary.