(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Democrat Barack Obama is leading Republican John McCain, according to a poll by the Franklin and Marshall College’s Center for Opinion Research. 42 per cent of respondents would vote for the Illinois senator in this year’s United States presidential election, while 36 per cent would support the Arizona senator.

Seven per cent of respondents would vote for other candidates, and 15 per cent are undecided.

On Jun. 27, McCain discussed his views on global trade, saying, "I don’t believe that every trade agreement is totally fair, and we do have mechanisms in these agreements where you can bring suit where unfair practices exist. I would say that if and when we conclude additional free trade agreements, perhaps we could do a better job of setting up and implementing mechanisms that would address unfair or violations, basically, of the free trade agreements that we make."

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 November general election for president was being held today and the candidates were John McCain the Republican and Barack Obama the Democrat, would you vote for John McCain, Barack Obama, some other candidate, or aren’t you sure how you would vote?

Source: Franklin and Marshall College’s Center for Opinion Research
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,501 American adults, conducted from Jun. 16 to Jun. 22, 2008. Margin of error is 2.5 per cent.

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