Obama Leads Independents In Colorado By 11 Points

October 15, 2008 8:25 a.m. EST

Denver, CO (AHN) - Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) is ahead of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) in the Centennial State, according to a new poll. The Illinois senator has caught up with McCain among men and white voters in the key battleground state.

Obama leads overall, 52-43 percent. He dominates among women, 54-38 percent, and independents, 51-40 percent. He statistically ties with McCain among men, 47-49 percent, and whites, 48-47 percent.

Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) is qualified to be vice president, according to 82-11 percent of voters. More voters, 51-44 percent, think Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is not qualified to be a potential commander-in-chief.

"They key to winning elections in Colorado is independent voters and Sen. Obama has blown open the race there with his 11-point lead among them," Quinnipiac University Polling Institute assistant director Peter Brown said in a news release. "These same voters say 3-1 that the Democrat won the last debate, which drives one more nail into McCain's coffin."

Quinnipiac University, in partnership with the Wall Street Journal and the Washingtonpost.com, conducted the poll from Oct. 8-12 among 1,088 Colorado likely voters. The margin of error is 3 percent.

Colorado is a swing state with 9 electoral votes. A candidate needs 270 of the 538 votes from all states to win the election.