Polls place Obama ahead of McCain in swing states

By Marc Kovac

COLUMBUS — U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton’s exit from the presidential race has given Barack Obama a boost over the presumptive Republican nominee, according to a new swing state poll.

The Illinois senator now outpaces U.S. Sen. John McCain, R.-Ariz., among likely November voters in Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania.

It’s the first time in several months that Obama has topped McCain in all three states.

“Finally, getting Sen. Hillary Clinton out of the race has been a big boost for Sen. Barack Obama,” according to Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. “He now leads in all three of the major swing states, although his margins in Florida and Ohio are small.”

He added, “Sen. Obama is certainly not out of the woods, but these results are a good indication that he enters the summer slightly ahead in the race to be the next president.”

The Connecticut-based institute regularly polls registered voters in the three states on candidates and issues. Over the past week, it surveyed more than 4,000 voters, including 1,396 in Ohio, where respondents backed Obama, 48 percent to 42 percent.

The results were 47 percent to 43 percent in Florida and 52 percent to 40 percent in Pennsylvania, also in favor of Obama.

Obama had larger margins of support among women, blacks and young voters in each state, according to the poll.

Also of note: A total of 13 percent of Ohioans who voted for George W. Bush in the last presidential election now are supporting Obama, while 25 percent who backed Clinton during the primary have thrown their support behind McCain.

A total of 22 percent of respondents said they were less likely to vote for McCain because of his age, while 89 percent said Obama’s race would not affect their decision.

“Although he still trails among white working-class voters, Sen. Obama is within hailing distance among them and doing well enough that if he keeps the same level of support through November, he’s likely to carry Ohio,” Brown said.

mkovac@dixcom.com