(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - There is no clear favourite in the United States presidential race, according to a poll by RT Strategies for the Cook Political Report. 44 per cent of respondents would vote for Democratic Illinois senator Barack Obama, while 43 per cent would support Republican Arizona senator John McCain.

Three per cent of respondents would back other candidates, and 10 per cent are undecided. Support for McCain increased by one point since April, while backing for Obama fell by the same margin.

On Jun. 7, New York senator Hillary Rodham Clinton—Obama’s main rival in the Democratic presidential race—endorsed the presumptive nominee, saying, "(I) throw my full support behind him. And I ask all of you to join me in working as hard for Barack Obama as you have for me. (...) Let us resolve and work toward achieving some very simple propositions: There are no acceptable limits and there are no acceptable prejudices in the 21st century in our country."

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

I know the election in November is a long way off, but if Barack Obama were the Democratic Party’s candidate and Arizona senator John McCain were the Republican Party’s candidate, who would you vote for? (Leaners included) 

Source: RT Strategies / Cook Political Report
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 802 registered American voters, conducted from May 29 to May 31, 2008. Margin of error is 3.5 per cent.

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