Poll gap tightens in 3 key swing states

By Marc Kovac

Obama still leads, but the gap is smaller.

COLUMBUS — Republican John McCain appears to be closing the gap in three battleground states, according to a new poll released Wednesday morning.

The Quinnipiac University Polling Institute’s latest count still has Democrat Barack Obama ahead in Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania.

But the margins are closer than last week’s results, with Ohioans supporting Obama 51-to-42 percent, compared with 52-to-38 percent.

In Pennsylvania, Obama led 53-to-41 percent, compared with 53-to-40 percent.

And in Florida, the two candidates were neck and neck, with Obama ahead 47-to-45 percent, compared with 49-to-44 percent.

“If — IF — Senator Barack Obama can take Florida, he could match or come close to President Bill Clinton’s re-election margin in 1996, carrying all three of the big swing states en route to rolling up 379 Electoral College votes,” Peter Brown, assistant director of the polling institute, said in a release. “The last challenger to win the big three was Ronald Reagan, who tallied 489 Electoral College votes in his 1980 landslide.”

Quinnipiac regularly gauges voters’ opinions on candidates and issues in the three states.

Its latest survey was conducted over the past week and involved about 4,200 likely voters, including 1,425 in Ohio.

Among the Ohio-specific results:

UObama led, 57-to-31 percent, among residents who voted early. He outpaced his Republican opponent among women (55-to-36 percent), younger voters (59-to-36 percent) and black voters (89-to-1 percent).

UMcCain, meanwhile, edged Obama among men (48-to-45 percent), white voters (47-to-46 percent) and those aged 35-54 (47-to-46 percent).

UA majority of those polled (59 percent) continued to rank the economy as the biggest issued affecting their choice.