AL POLL: Obama 44, Hillary 37

[jefferson_dem]

Obama, McCain continue leads in Alabama polls
By Dana Beyerle
Montgomery Bureau Chief

MONTGOMERY | A tracking poll by the Capital Survey Research Center released Friday showed Barack Obama, the U.S. senator from Illinois, polling 44.4 percent of the vote, and New York U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton polling 37.4 percent inthe Democratic primary as of Thursday.

Obama moved outside the margin of error in the poll for the first time. The margin of error in the Democratic poll was 5.1 percentage points.

Just three days ago it was Obama 40 percent and Clinton 35 percent, with a margin of error of 5 percentage points.

On the Republican side, McCain, the U.S. senator from Arizona, polled 37.8 percent, and Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, polled 26.2 percent.

McCain also moved outside the margin of error of 5 percentage points.

Three days ago McCain polled 28 percent to Huckabee’s 24 percent.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney polled 14.6 percent in Friday’s poll, under the 20 percent minimum a GOP candidate needs Tuesday to get any delegates.

Pollster Gerald Johnson said he believes McCain is getting votes from former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who has dropped his White House quest.

“Clinton is picking up the Edwards vote,” he said. “The black vote continues to increase for Obama and the white vote for Clinton. The closer you get to the election there are fewer undecided and that’s the way it’s breaking.”

Johnson said his poll will continue past Saturday when several candidates or their surrogates will be in Alabama and when candidate commercials begin to run.

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20080202/NEWS/122394749/1007