PRINCETON, NJ -- The latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update shows 47% of registered voters preferring John McCain and 45% Barack Obama when asked whom they would vote for if the presidential election were held today.
The latest results, based on Sept. 11-13 interviewing, are the same as Saturday's report. McCain had led by as many as five percentage points in recent days, but the margin has narrowed to a statistical tie in each of the last three reports. The race has been competitive throughout the campaign, with neither candidate able to sustain a sizeable lead. Obama has held the largest lead for either candidate at nine points, but only for one day. (To view the complete trend since March 7, 2008, click here.) -- Jeff Jones
(Click here to see how the race currently breaks down by demographic subgroup.)
Survey Methods
For the Gallup Poll Daily tracking survey, Gallup is interviewing no fewer than 1,000 U.S. adults nationwide each day during 2008.
The general-election results are based on combined data from Sept. 11-13, 2008. For results based on this sample of 2,787 registered voters, the maximum margin of sampling error is ±2 percentage points.
Interviews are conducted with respondents on land-line telephones (for respondents with a land-line telephone) and cellular phones (for respondents who are cell-phone only).
In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
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