Pittsburgh Tribune Poll: Obama leads McCain by 8-points in PA

[WI_DEM]

Democrat Sen. Barack Obama leads Republican Sen. John McCain by 8 percentage points in Pennsylvania, according to a poll that shows the candidates' support solidifying 15 days before Election Day.

Obama leads McCain by 48 percent to 40 percent with 7 percent undecided and about 5 percent preferring other candidates or declining to give a preference, according to the Susquehanna Polling and Research poll released exclusively to the Tribune-Review. An August Susquehanna poll gave Obama a 5-point advantage.

Obama's expanded lead in the latest poll is outside the error margin of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points. The telephone survey of 700 likely voters was conducted Thursday through Saturday.



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The 8-point lead shows a closer race than the double-digit margins in several other recent independent polls, but Susquehanna president Jim Lee says the outlook remains bleak for McCain, who continues to pour significant resources into Pennsylvania in a long-shot bid to capture its 21 electoral votes.

"It will be very difficult for McCain to close that gap enough to win," even though the Arizona Republican is faring slightly better than Obama among the remaining undecided voters, Lee said.

Obama's lead in the vote-rich counties around Philadelphia is twice as large as John Kerry's was when he won the state in 2004, Lee said. President Bush won 19 percent of the vote in Philadelphia in 2004, while McCain is polling at 11 percent there.

"This is where the race is won," Lee said.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/breaking/s_594239.html

[Drunken Irishman]

1. Nice! That puts him up +3 from their last poll.

[Cattledog]

2. The Tribune is a Mellon backed paper too!

[AlinPA]

3. The Tribune is the most right wing paper in PA.