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PRINCETON, NJ -- Barack Obama holds a three percentage point advantage over John McCain in the latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update, 46% to 43%.
These results, based on Aug. 4-6 polling, are essentially the same as Gallup has found all week, and suggest that voter preferences have stabilized for the moment. Near the tail end of Obama's overseas trip his lead expanded to nine points, but in the days following the trip's conclusion McCain erased that lead and moved into a tie with Obama. Since then, Obama has reestablished a modest advantage over McCain. (To view the complete trend since March 7, 2008, click here.)
From a long-term perspective, Obama's 3-point margin is consistent with what he has enjoyed since clinching the Democratic nomination in early June. -- Jeff Jones
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 Aug. 4-6, 2008. For results based on this sample of 2,735 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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