Illinois Senator ahead by 3 points
Officials in both camps agree: The race is a toss-up that will remain hotly competitive
By Mary Beth Schneider
mary.beth.schneider@indystar.com
Sen. Barack Obama holds a narrow lead over Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in Indiana, with the outcome of the May 6 primary likely in the hands of a large number of undecided voters, according to a new Indianapolis Star-WTHR poll.
The poll showed that Obama -- helped in particular by strong backing from black voters -- is leading Clinton 41 percent to 38 percent among likely Democratic primary voters. But given the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points, this race is either candidate's to win or lose.
That's especially true because 21 percent of the respondents remain unsure of how they'll vote -- a high number of undecided voters for an election less than two weeks away.
The poll, taken Sunday through Wednesday by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines, Iowa, showed that Obama has one big additional edge over Clinton: He does better against the presumptive Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., than she does.
Among Hoosiers who said they would vote in the general election -- a statewide sample of voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points -- Obama beat McCain 49 percent to 41 percent. Clinton broke even with McCain, with both backed by 46 percent of those polled.
And, by 49 percent to 35 percent, Democratic primary voters said Obama is the candidate best able to win in the general election.
Robert Gibbs, national communications director for the Obama campaign, said the poll "points to a primary that we believe will be very close and very competitive."
But, he said, "the numbers in the general election show Barack Obama's unique ability to change the political map and bring people participating for the first time, or for the first time in a long time, into the election this year."
Joe Hogsett, co-chairman of Clinton's campaign in Indiana, said this and other polls show "this is a toss-up race that is going to be very hotly contested and hard-fought."
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