Democrat Barack Obama's lead over Republican rival John McCain firmed marginally to 6 points with support for both candidates steady before Tuesday's U.S. presidential election, according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll released today.
Obama leads McCain by 50 per cent to 44 per cent among likely voters in the three-day national tracking poll, up from a 5-point advantage yesterday. The telephone poll has a margin of error of 2.9 percentage points.
"There are two full days to go before Election Day and obviously anything can happen, but it is hard to see where McCain goes from here," pollster John Zogby said.
He said the polling data over the weekend showed that both candidates appeared to be consolidating support among their core supporters - women and independents for Obama, older voters and conservatives for McCain.
National opinion polls all give the lead to Obama, who also appears to be outflanking McCain in a number of the battleground states that will end up deciding the election.
McCain spent Saturday campaigning in Virginia and Pennsylvania - states that electoral strategists regard as crucial to his hopes for victory - while Obama pushed for an advantage in three states that went for President George W. Bush in 2004: Nevada, Colorado and Missouri.
The poll showed Obama well ahead among voters who had already participated in early balloting, leading McCain in this group by 56 per cent to 39 per cent.
Women and independent voters, groups that are expected to play an important role in this election, continue to back Obama although his margin is not as wide as it was late last month.
Obama enjoys an 8-point lead among women voters and a 10-point lead among independents.
McCain continues to hold a strong lead among white voters, 54 per cent to 40 per cent, and among voters who identify themselves as members of the "investor class," who support him by a 9-point margin.
Obama, who would be the first black U.S. president, wins 93 per cent support among black voters and 65 per cent among Hispanics.
Independent Ralph Nader received 2 per cent in the national survey, and Libertarian Bob Barr was at 1 per cent. About 2 per cent of voters remain undecided.
The rolling tracking poll, taken Wednesday through Friday, surveyed 1,201 likely voters in the presidential election. In a tracking poll, the most recent day's results are added, while the oldest day's results are dropped to monitor changing momentum.
The US presidency is determined by which candidate wins the Electoral College, which has 538 members apportioned by population in each state and the District of Columbia. Electoral votes are allotted on a winner-take-all basis in all but two states, which divide them by congressional district.
AP