PRINCETON, NJ -- National registered voters continue to favor Barack Obama by a slim margin over John McCain, 47% to 42%, according to Gallup Poll Daily tracking conducted right before the July 4 holiday.
Today's three-day rolling average is based on interviewing from July 1-3, 2008. About 5% of voters say they will not vote for either major party candidate while an additional 6% are undecided.
Except for a brief period a week ago when McCain and Obama were tied in voter preference, Obama has had the slight upper hand in the race since Gallup's June 6 report, leading McCain by one to seven percentage points. The last time McCain had any numerical advantage over Obama was in Gallup's June 5 report when he was one percentage point ahead, 46% to 45%. However, the last time McCain had a statistically significant lead was in early May. (To view the complete trend since March 7, click here.)
Gallup did not conduct daily tracking interviewing on the July 4 holiday. Thus, tomorrow's report will be based on interviews conducted July 2-3 and July 5. -- 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 July 1-3, 2008. For results based on this sample of 2,630 registered voters, the maximum margin of sampling error is ±2 percentage points.
Interviews are conducted with respondents on land-line telephones (for respondents with a land-line telephone) and cellular phones (for respondents who are cell-phone only).
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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