New poll previews tie in U.S. 2008 national elections

Source: Xinhua | 03-19-2008 08:04

WASHINGTON, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Either Barack Obama or Hillary Rodham Clinton would face a neck-and-neck race with John McCain in the November national presidential elections, according to a poll released on Tuesday.

Democratic presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton applauds during the inauguration of New York State Governor David Paterson as the 55th state governor at the state  capitol building in Albany, New York Mar. 17, 2008.  (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

The poll by CNN and Opinion Research Corporation indicated that if Illinois Senator Obama were nominated as the Democratic presidential candidate, he would get 47 percent of the vote compared to 46 percent for Republican presumptive nominee McCain.

Should New York Senator Clinton win the Democratic party's nomination, she would get 49 percent compared to McCain's 47 percent.

Considering the poll's 3-percent points margin of error, the three candidates were seen to be caught in a statistical tie in the general election.

The poll also showed the equally high marks from voters on the economic issue, with about two-thirds of those surveyed saying each of the candidates would do a good job in handling this top concern, including McCain whose party was criticized for the country's economic woes.

Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama speaks during a town hall meeting at the Community  College of Beaver County in Monaca, Pennsylvania Mar.  17, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

"The fact that McCain is currently holding his own on the economy with the two Democratic candidates does help to explain why the general election matchups are so close even though most Americans think the country is in a recession," CNN Polling Director Keating Holland said.

The 71 year-old Arizona Senator also gained more confidence from voters in handling terrorism issue, while Obama and Clinton scored significantly lower.

However, both two Democrats got higher points in handling the health care, the top concern for almost 20 percent of voters, almost twice as many as the 10 percent that cited terrorism.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (R) meets U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain (L)  in Baghdad Mar. 17, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

The two Democratic presidential candidates are still caught in a close tie after most states and territories held their Democratic primaries and caucuses, with Obama's slight lead over Clinton in the number of delegates who would vote at the nomination convention in late August.

On Republican side, McCain would officially get the party's presidential nominee at the national convention in early September.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei