Obama Widens his Lead over McCain, (50% - 40%); Women Voters Driving Obama’s Lead

New York, NY - Today's Diageo/Hotline Daily Tracker Poll shows that the Obama-Biden ticket has expanded its lead over the McCain-Palin ticket and now leads in a head-to-head match-up by 10 points.

In today's Poll, Obama-Biden are at 50%, McCain-Palin are at 40%, with 7% of likely voters undecided.

What's more, the Poll shows that Obama's lead in the head-to-head could be largely driven by female likely voters. The head-to-head among men is even, at 44% - 44%. Among women likely voters, however, Obama leads McCain in the head-to-head by 18 points, (55% - 37%).

General Election Ballot: McCain-Palin v Obama-Biden*

In today's Poll, 52% of likely voters rate John McCain favorably and 57% rate Barack Obama favorably. This five-point gap between the candidates represents a three-point increase since yesterday's Poll.

Among Independent likely voters, Obama is viewed more favorably than McCain by an even larger margin, (61% - 55%).

Favorability: Obama v McCain*

While Obama maintains his solid lead over McCain on perceived performance on the economy, the Poll shows that McCain is gradually closing this gap. Despite the significant margin between the two candidates on this issue (13 points), McCain has closed in on Obama's lead by 5 points since the October 15 Poll.

Who would do Best Job Handling the Economy?*

While a higher percentage likely voters still say McCain is better prepared than Obama to lead the country, the Poll shows that Obama has slightly closed in on the Republican candidate's lead, (47% - 41%).

The Poll finds that Independent likely voters feel similarly about the two candidates' preparedness to lead, with 42% saying McCain is more prepared and 38% saying Obama is more prepared to lead.

Preparedness to Lead*

A majority of likely voters say that Obama "better understands the needs and priorities of people like yourself," (52% - 37%). However, the Poll shows that McCain has slightly closed the gap between the two candidates on this issue, from a 21-point difference in the October 14 Poll, to a narrower 15-point difference in today's Poll.

Among Independent likely voters, Obama's ratings on this issue are overwhelmingly higher than those of McCain, by a 29-point margin, (56% - 27%).

Better Understands Needs and Priorities*

* data presented in charts based on rolling 3-day average of 800+ likely voter interviews (out of 900+ registered voter interviews) concluded the previous day. This is based on at least 300 interviews conducted daily.

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