Obama Maintains Lead In Pennsylvania

Harrisburg, PA (AHN) - Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) has maintained his narrow lead in the Keystone State, the latest Quinnipiac University poll said Tuesday.

Obama is ahead of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), 49-42 percent. His lead is unchanged since July. Obama has the edge among women, 53-37 percent, young voters, 57-40 percent, and independents, 48-38 percent. He again beats McCain on the economy, 50-40 percent, and the energy crisis, 50-39 percent.

McCain has the vote of whites and men by an identical margin of 47-43 percent. He is the better candidate to handle a terrorist attack, 52-37 percent, relations with Russia, 49-39 percent, and a potential conflict in between Israel and Iran, 49-41 percent.

"The Obama campaign hopes that Sen. Biden's Scranton roots will give the Democrats a boost in Pennsylvania. This poll was mostly done before Biden's selection was announced so it is too early for any indication whether that will turn out to be the case. Obama's still in good shape in Pennsylvania, but his lead has been cut by almost half in the last two months," Quinnipiac University Polling Institute Assistant Director Peter Brown said in a news release.

The results are based on interviews conducted from Aug. 17-24 among 1,234 Pennsylvania likely voters. The margin of error for the three state polls is 3 percent, 2.8 percent and 2.8 percent, respectively.