Ohio poll shows Obama up 7 points

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Sen. and Democratic Presidential Nominee Barack Obama

Both candidates plan to visit the Buckeye State this week.

COLUMBUS (AP) — A new poll shows Barack Obama with a seven-point lead over John McCain in Ohio, an eight-point swing from a previous poll in August that showed McCain up by one point.

The Columbus Dispatch reported Sunday that Obama leads 49 percent to 42 percent among likely voters in the important battleground state.

The newspaper’s poll was conducted Sept. 24-Oct. 3 by mail among 2,262 likely Ohio voters. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 2.2 percentage points.

The polling period spanned the first presidential debate and the vice-presidential matchup, as well as Washington’s response to the Wall Street meltdown.

A poll done by the Dispatch in the middle of August showed McCain with a 42 percent to 41 percent lead. Obama’s support among Ohio Democrats has increased 10 percent since then, and he now has the backing of two-thirds of those who voted for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in the March 4th primary.

In the August poll, just half of Clinton’s supporters said they were behind Obama.

The timing of the poll shift could be especially significant because early voting has started in Ohio, giving voters the opportunity to make a choice before any events over the next few weeks could influence the trajectory of the race.

Ohio is always a sought after swing state for both parties. But it is especially important this time around for McCain, who needs to hold on to big states won by President Bush in the 2004 election.

Obama’s campaign has worked out scenarios where he could win the election while losing Ohio; it is a crucial component of McCain’s hopes.

McCain plans a visit to Cleveland on Wednesday, while Obama plans a two-day bus trip across Ohio this week.

On the question of who is most likely to bring about change, which McCain has begun to adopt in television ads running in Ohio, poll participants chose Obama by a margin of 49 percent to 39 percent.

“It is not only a matter of change, but change for the better, and Obama has the better chance of securing that change,” said Graig Kluge, 36, a Cleveland Heights real-estate investment manager. “McCain will not push for the change that is needed for this country — he is going to be much like Bush.”

Still, aversion to Obama could still be found in the poll results.

“I don’t feel that Barack is a true American,” said Tracy Clyburn, 42, a medical transcriptionist from Amelia, east of Cincinnati. “I don’t believe that Barack has as much concern for our country as does McCain. It seems like he is in it for the fame. I really don’t feel he has the experience to lead our country.”

The poll showed that a much larger portion of respondents believe Obama’s running mate, Joe Biden, is more qualified to be vice president than Sarah Palin. About 55 percent of respondents said Biden was more qualified to 35 percent who said Palin was more qualified.

“Their qualifications are worlds apart,” said Bruce Tromp, 42, a software engineer from Springboro, near Cincinnati. “Biden has years of experience and is a skilled politician. Palin doesn’t even seem to understand the issues, let alone be able to form an intelligent opinion on them.”