Poll: McCain makes up ground
Posted: Thursday, April 10, 2008 2:53 PM by Domenico Montanaro
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
McCain has made up ground on both Democratic candidates, according to a new AP-Ipsos poll out today. Obama saw a big drop, as he had been leading McCain by 10 points in February but now is tied, 45%-45%. Clinton leads McCain 48%-45% -- within the 3.1% margin of error. Clinton had led McCain, 48%-43% a month ago.
In the Democratic primary contest, Obama's retains his 3-point lead over Clinton, which is unchanged at 46%-43%. But there was a lot of movement underneath the topline numbers.
"[T]he heated primary is creating divisions among the electorate -- many Clinton and Obama supporters say they would rather vote for McCain if their chosen Democrat doesn't win the nomination," the AP writes. "About a quarter of Obama supporters say they'll vote for McCain if Clinton is the Democratic nominee. About a third of Clinton supporters say they would vote for McCain if it's Obama.
"Against McCain, Obama lost ground among women -- from 57 percent in February to 47 percent in April. Obama dropped 12 points among women under 45, 14 points among suburban women and 15 points among married women. He also lost nine points or more among voters under 35, high-income households, whites, Catholics, independents, Southerners, people living in the Northeast and those with a high school education or less."
But against Clinton, Obama actually gained a net of 13 points among women while Clinton gained a net of 17 among men. And while Clinton still leads among Democrats making less than $50,000 a year, that gap has closed from 17 points to seven. Also, Obama has flipped "moderate" Democrats in his favor. A month ago, Clinton led among that group 45%-40%; Obama now leads 51%-35%.
