Obama Ahead By 9 In Buckeye State

October 29, 2008 11:53 a.m. EST

Columbus, OH (AHN) - Sen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) advantage among working-class voters and on the issue of the economy is helping fuel his lead in the Buckeye State, Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll said on Wednesday.

Obama is ahead of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) in the state overall by nine points, or 49-40 percent. He has a 14-point lead among white, working-class voters, who are deined as people with no college degree and a a household income of less than $50,000.

He has the support of women and young voters, groups considered his constituencies. The Democrat also leads among voters who say they have voted, by 57-35 percent.

McCain dominates among independents, 49-38 percent, and is ahead among seniors. But his lead among men, a traditionally Republican group, is only three points. He also trails Obama on the question of which candidate to trust on the economy, 38-50 percent.

Significant also is that nearly 50 percent said they were not sure what Obama's religion was, and 7 percent said they believe he is a Muslim.

Obama has been fighting off persistent rumors that he is a radical Muslim since the primary season.

The poll was conducted from Oct. 25-27 among 816 registered voters and 644 likely voters. The margin of error is 3 percent for registered voters and 4 percent for likely voters.

Ohio is a key swing state with 20 electoral votes. A candidate needs 270 of the 538 votes from all states to win the election.