Poll: Ohio puts John McCAin in Front

By Mike Underwood

Monday, October 20, 2008 - Updated 11hours ago

Pollsters say Democrat Barack Obama is still the national electorate’s White House favorite, but his GOP rival John McCain has the edge in at least one crucial battleground state.

McCain leads Obama in Ohio by one point with 46 percent of the vote to Obama’s 45, according to an NBC/Mason-Dixon poll released yesterday.

However, national polls show Obama continues to hold the lead over his opponent.

Rasmussen Reports has Obama leading by six points, 51 to 45 percent, while a national Gallup poll also has Obama leading by 3 points with 49 percent.

Meanwhile, a national Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll has Obama leading by 3 points with 48 percent of the vote to McCain’s 45.

Pollster John Zogby said the numbers were good news for McCain, possibly reflecting a bump following his appearance in the third and final presidential debate Wednesday.

“There is no question something has happened,” Zogby said.

McCain Now Leads In Ohio

Sunday, October 12, 2008 9:30 AM

-- THE POLL: The Ohio Newspaper Poll, presidential race among likely Ohio voters (20 electoral votes). THE NUMBERS: John McCain 48 percent, Barack Obama 46 percent. OF INTEREST: Three weeks ago, this poll had Republican McCain leading 48-42 percent. Democrat Obama has been closing the gap as economic concerns simmer, with 22 percent of Ohio voters saying they are very or somewhat worried about losing their jobs and 18 percent very or somewhat worried about losing their homes. More than half of Ohio voters, or 53 percent, said they either strongly or somewhat disapproved of the federal government's $700 billion bailout of troubled financial institutions. DETAILS: Conducted Oct. 4-8 by landline telephone among 876 likely Ohio voters. Sampling error plus or minus 3.3 percent. © 2008 Associated Press.