PRINCETON, NJ -- Barack Obama continues to lead Hillary Clinton by an ample margin in national Democratic preferences for the nomination, now favored by 49% of Democratic voters to Clinton's 42%.

The latest results are based on interviews with national Democratic primary voters conducted April 9-11 and represent Obama's sixth straight day of leading Clinton by a significant margin in Gallup Poll Daily tracking reports. Obama's lead is substantially narrower in the two most recent days of interviews, however, suggesting the race could tighten in the coming days. (To view the complete trend since Jan. 3, 2008, click here.)
There has been no change since April 6-10 tracking in how Obama and Clinton each fare against their probable Republican presidential challenger, John McCain. In trial heats for the general election, Obama leads McCain by three percentage points, 46% to 43% while Clinton leads McCain by a narrower (and not statistically significant) 1-point margin, 46% to 45%. -- Lydia Saad




Survey Methods
For the Gallup Poll Daily tracking survey, Gallup is interviewing no fewer than 1,000 U.S. adults nationwide each day during 2008.
The general election results are based on combined data from April 7-11, 2008. For results based on this sample of 4,400 registered voters, the maximum margin of sampling error is ±2 percentage points.
The Democratic nomination results are based on combined data from April 9-11, 2008. For results based on this sample of 1,197 Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters, the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points.
In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
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