Obama maintains battleground surge over McCain

By Marc Kovac

COLUMBUS — U.S. Sen. Barack Obama continues to outpace U.S. Sen. John McCain in three key battleground states, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll.

The Democratic presidential hopeful increased his standing in Ohio, with 52 percent of likely voters leaning in his direction, compared to 38 percent for his Republican counterpart.

That compares to the Quinnipiac Polling Institute results earlier this month of 50 percent to 42 percent.

Obama also leads McCain in Florida (49 percent to 44 percent) and Pennsylvania (53 percent to 40 percent), though his overall support waned slightly in both of those states.

“As we enter the home stretch, Senator Obama is winning voter groups that no Democrat has carried in more than four decades, and he holds very solid leads in the big swing states,” Peter Brown, assistant director of the polling institute, said in a released statement Thursday. “If these numbers hold up, he could win the biggest Democratic landslide since Lyndon Johnson in 1964.”

He added, “Senator Obama is no longer the candidate of the young, the well-educated and minorities. He is now virtually the candidate of the ‘all.’ He is winning among all age groups and in all three states. He wins women by more than 20 points in Ohio and Pennsylvania and is competitive among men in all three states. Whether voters went to college or not, they are voting for him.”

Quinnipiac, which regularly gauges voters’ opinions on candidates and issues in the three states, surveyed 4,000-plus likely voters over the past week, including 1,360 in Ohio.

Among the Ohio results:

UObama leads, 71 percent to 20 percent, among those who have voted early. He also is outpacing McCain among women (58 percent to 33 percent), men (46 percent to 44 percent), white voters (47 percent to 43 percent) and black voters (94 percent to 3 percent).

UThe economy continues to be the biggest issue affecting Ohioans’ votes, with 61 percent ranking it at the top.