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A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday of the three largest swing states — Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania — shows Democratic nominee Barack Obama holding leads over GOP rival John McCain. The poll found Sen. Obama (Ill.) leading Sen. McCain (Ariz.) 47-45 percent in Florida, 51-42 percent in Ohio and 53-41 percent in Pennsylvania. Quinnipiac Polling Institute Assistant Director Peter Brown noted that no president since 1960 has been elected without carrying two of the three states. “If Sen. Barack Obama can take Florida, he could match or come close to President Bill Clinton’s reelection margin in 1996, carrying all three of the big swing states en route to rolling up 379 Electoral College votes,” Brown said. “Time is running out for Sen. John McCain, and this poll shows the number of voters who say they might change their mind to support him gets smaller and smaller,” he added. Florida remains too close to call, and the Republican has halved Obama’s lead in the past week. Early voting in the state gives an advantage to Obama, however, with 58 percent of those casting votes in the Sunshine State already supporting the Democrat. Obama’s leads in Ohio and Pennsylvania are a blow to McCain’s hopes of staging a come-from-behind victory next Tuesday. Quinnipiac, a Connecticut-based polling institute, conducted the poll from Oct. 22 to 26. Pollsters called 1,435 likely voters in Florida with a margin of error of 2.6 percent, 1,425 likely voters in Ohio with a margin of error of 2.6 percent, and 1,364 likely voters in Pennsylvania with a margin of error of 2.7 percent. |
