IL Tribune/WGN poll: Obama-55, Clinton-24

[BeyondGeography]

Barack Obama and John McCain lead rivals 2-1 in Illinois, poll shows

Favorite-son Sen. Barack Obama and Arizona Sen. John McCain each hold a better than 2-to-1 edge over their closest presidential rivals entering the Illinois primary, but many voters say they're still undecided or could change their mind before casting a ballot Tuesday, a new Tribune/WGN-TV poll shows.

The final survey before Illinois voters play their role in the Super Tuesday presidential contests in more than 20 states shows Hillary Clinton has lost support among African-American voters in the Democratic race while McCain has seen a surge in support among conservative Republicans who have distrusted him.

The survey found Obama, a first-term Illinois senator from Chicago, with the support of 55 percent of likely Democratic primary voters. Clinton, a two-term New York senator born in Chicago and raised in suburban Park Ridge, had 24 percent.

On the Republican side, McCain, a veteran Arizona senator, had the backing of 43 percent of likely GOP primary voters in the state, compared with 20 percent for former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, 15 percent for former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas and 4 percent for Rep. Ron Paul of Texas.

Despite the commanding advantages held by Obama and McCain, the survey still found 20 percent of Democrats and 17 percent of Republicans undecided heading into the primary. And among those backing a candidate for president, nearly a quarter of Democrats and more than a third of Republicans said they could still change their minds.

The indecision was reflective of a quickly shifting presidential landscape in which surviving candidates have become more aggressive in trying to win nomination.

The survey, involving separate samples of 500 Republicans and Democrats who said they were likely to take part in the state's accelerated primary on Tuesday, has an error margin of 4.4 percentage points. The Democratic poll began Tuesday and the Republican poll began Wednesday; both polls concluded Thursday...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/obama/chi-ilpoll03feb03,1,1412162.story