Zogby Poll: McCain Stops His Slide

UTICA, New York— Democrat Barack Obama retained a double-digit lead over Republican John McCain, but McCain has stopped his four-day slide, the latest Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby daily tracking poll shows.

The poll, a three-day rolling average survey of likely voters nationwide, shows that Obama continues to dominate among independent voters—he leads by a 56% to 30% margin over McCain among those voters—and among those who have already cast their ballots. Those who have already voted now comprise more than 10% of the Zogby sample, and Obama holds a 20-point lead in that category. Among those who are new voters—registering in the last 6 months—the Democrat holds a 69% to 26% edge over McCain.

Obama leads among women, 58% to 38%, and McCain and Obama are tied among male voters. Obama continues to lead among voters of all ages.

Obama leads among Catholic voters by a 22–point margin, and among Protestants who are not evangelical, 48% to 44%. Among evangelicals – those who say they are Born Again – McCain leads, 60% to 34%.

Obama continues to win a significant 20% slice of the conservative vote, while McCain wins only 5% of the support of liberals. Among moderates, Obama leads, 63% to 30%. It is interesting to note that while McCain wins only 72% of the conservative vote, Obama wins 90% of the liberal vote.

Since the beginning of the Reuters/C–SPAN/Zogby daily tracking two–and–a–half weeks ago, Obama has gained 3.6 points, while McCain has lost 4.3 points.