Rasmussen released it’s latest round of battleground state polls last night, and they show Barack Obama leading in four out of the five states profiled:
Fox News/Rasmussen Reports polling this week shows that Barack Obama has made significant gains in Colorado, Missouri and Florida. In Ohio and Virginia, there was little change from the week before.
All five of these states were won by George W. Bush and the Republicans four years ago. Obama now holds at least a modest edge in four of the five state and is essentially even in Ohio.
I’ve already noted Obama’s slim but consistent lead in Virginia, here are the results from the other states.
Barack Obama has pulled ahead to his biggest lead yet over John McCain in Florida. The latest Fox News/Rasmussen Reports survey of the state finds the Democrat ahead 52% to 45%.
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Last week, the race was tied at 47%. Just one week prior, McCain had a five percentage point lead.
McCain is viewed favorably by 56% of voters and unfavorably by 43%. Obama’s ratings are 54% favorable, 43% unfavorable.
As for which candidate voters trust more, both men earn 47% support. Obama edges out McCain 51% to 46% on handling the economy and jobs, while McCain has a 51% to 44% advantage on national security and the war on terrorism.
The latest poll shows Obama dominating his opponent among unaffiliated voters in the state, 59% to 32%. McCain leads 54% to 43% among white voters in Florida, while Obama has a 67% to 33% lead among Hispanic voters
Based on this, it seems advisable to put the Sunshine State in the “leaning Democratic” category.
Ohio’s still a horse race in the latest Fox News/Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of voters in the state.
For the second week in a row, John McCain leads Barack Obama by a single point, 48% to 47%. Libertarian candidate Bob Barr and independent candidate Ralph Nader each earn one percent (1%) of the vote. Two weeks ago McCain led by four points.
Seventy-eight percent (78%) of Ohio voters say they are certain of the candidate they are voting for. But 22% say they may change their minds, including 29% of Catholic voters and 26% of those ages 18-39.
But there is reason to think that the Buckeye State may move in Obama’s direction:
With increasing turmoil on Wall Street and Congress battling for the past two weeks over an economic rescue plan, 52% of Ohio voters now say the economy is the most important issue in the election. Only 17% say national security is more important.
Obama has a 48% to 45% edge in terms of voter trust on jobs and the economy, while McCain leads 53% to 42% when voters are asked who they trust more on national security and the war on terror.
As long as that continues, it seems logical to assume that Ohio is more likely to go for Obama than McCain.
Barack Obama is pulling away from John McCain in Colorado, according to the latest Fox News/Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state.
Obama leads McCain by six points, 51% to 45%. A week ago, Obama had a one-point lead, and a week before that McCain was up by two.
Eighty-two percent (82%) of Colorado voters are now certain who they will vote for, up four points from a week ago. Eighteen percent (18%) say they may still change their minds, including one-third of unaffiliated voters in the state.
For Obama the findings are good news since moving Colorado to the Democratic column is considered critical to his winning the White House. A classic swing state, Colorado went for George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004 and GOP nominee Bob Dole in 1996 after supporting Democrat Bill Clinton four years earlier.
Barring a drastic change, I think we can expect Colorado to go for Obama this year.
Barack Obama has pulled ahead of John McCain in Missouri.
The latest Fox News/Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state shows Obama with 50% of the vote while McCain attracts 47%. Ralph Nader and Bob Barr pick up one percent (1%) each, and two percent (2%) are undecided.
These results are quite a change from a month ago when McCain was up by six points. However, over that month, the national trends and virtually all statewide polling has swung significantly in Obama’s direction.
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Forty-nine percent (49%) of voters in Missouri say they trust Obama more on economic issues while 46% place their trust in McCain. The economy is the top issue for 49% of the state’s voters.
National security ranks a distant second and is the top issue for just 20% of Missouri voters. John McCain is trusted more than Obama on this topic.
Forty-four percent (44%) of Missouri voters would be extremely or very comfortable with Obama as President. Forty percent (40%) say the same about McCain.
Again, a move in Obama’s favor.
Depending on how the next two debates go, Obama stands a good chance of closing the deal on this election within the next two weeks.
