Obama, Collins lead
Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Susan Collins hold double-digit leads over their opponents in the presidential and U.S. Senate races in Maine, according to a new poll released Wednesday by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, leads Sen. John McCain, the presumptive GOP nominee, by 12 points while Collins, a Republican, leads Democratic Rep. Tom Allen by 14 points.
In the presidential race, Obama leads McCain 49 to 37 percent and 11 percent are undecided. Collins leads Allen 55 to 41 percent.
Obama leads among voters under age 35, among women and he is running even with McCain among male voters.
McCain leads among older voters.
Obama leads 54 to 29 percent among independent voters, who outnumber registered Democrats and registered Republicans.
Obama and McCain are nearly tied among small business owners and self-described supporters of the business community.
The poll also sampled voters in the Portland media market and the Bangor – Presque Isle market. Obama led 50 to 36 percent in the southern part of the state and 49 to 38 percent in the northern part of the state.
See more below about the U.S. Senate race.
Collins leads by three points in the state’s first Congressional district and by 26 points in the second district. She also leads among men, women and voters in all age groups.
She has a 15-point lead among independents and she attracts nearly one-third of Democratic voters.
Allen leads among environmentalists, urban voters, non-college educated men, and union households.
The poll also asked likely voters about the direction of the country and what issues they want the federal government to address.
Nearly 80 percent said the economy is getting worse.
Energy policy and gas prices were the most important issues, topping the war in Iraq and the economy as issues that voters want the government to address.
Public Opinion Strategies, a GOP-polling firm, conducted the poll for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on May 14 and 15 of 300 likely voters in the 2008 election.
The margin of error is 5.66 percent.
Posted at 12:28 PM
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