(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Democrat Barack Obama remains ahead of Republican John McCain in this year’s United States presidential race, according to a poll by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. 50 per cent of respondents would vote for the Illinois senator, while 41 per cent would back the Arizona senator.

Seven per cent of respondents are undecided. Support for Obama increased by three points since May, while backing for McCain went up by one point.

On Jul. 15, McCain criticized Obama’s views on the Iraq war, saying, "We know Senator Obama was wrong. The surge has succeeded and because of its success, the next president will inherit a situation in Iraq in which America’s enemies are on the run."

In American elections, candidates require 270 votes in the Electoral College to win the White House. In November 2004, Republican George W. Bush earned a second term after securing 286 electoral votes from 31 states. Democratic nominee John Kerry received 252 electoral votes from 19 states and the District of Columbia.

Bush is ineligible for a third term in office. The presidential election is scheduled for Nov. 4.

Polling Data

If the election for president were being held today, and the candidates were Barack Obama the Democrat and John McCain the Republican, for whom would you vote? (...) As of today, do you lean more toward Obama or McCain?

Source: Quinnipiac University Polling Institute
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,725 likely American voters, conducted from Jul. 8 to Jul. 13, 2008. Margin of error is 2.4 per cent.

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