Obama Leads Big in Another Poll, as Tide Turns Against Palin

CQ Poll Tracker
October 25, 2008

Barack Obama is leading John McCain 53 percent to 40 percent with 1 percent preferring some other candidate and 6 percent undecided. in a Newsweek poll conducted Oct. 22-23. The margin of error for all adults is 3.6 percent for registered voters. Obama had led by 11 earlier this month and was tied with McCain in Newsweek's Sept. 10-11 poll. Obama's favorable to unfavorable ratio is 62 percent to 32 percent while McCain's is 50 percent to 44 percent.

The biggest demographic and party identification gaps are Obama's 8 point lead among independents, his 13 point lead among women, his 63 point lead among non-whites, and double-digit leads among voters under 64. McCain's biggest advantage is his 65 percent to 29 percent lead among white evangelicals.

If voters could cast ballots separately for Vice President, Joseph Biden would beat Sarah Palin 54 percent to 37 percent. She is viewed unfavorably by 46 percent of voters and favorably by 44 percent. Twenty-two percent of voters said the choice of Palin as running mate made them "a lot less likely to vote for McCain." They said by 55 percent to 40 percent that she was not qualified to step in as President. Voters say by 57 percent to 35 percent that Palin is not well-informed on foreign policy. And while 70 percent find her personally likeable, voters say by 47 percent to 39 percent that she has mostly made unfair personal attacks on her opponents on the campaign trail. As far as the now-famous $150,000 shopping foray Palin made with the help of RNC money, 68 percent said it did not affect their image of her as a reformer with small town values while 27 percent said it did.

(More here.)