PRINCETON, NJ -- The latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update of registered voters finds Barack Obama at 48%, and John McCain at 44%, marking a slight narrowing of the race from the eight percentage point margin Obama held earlier this week.
The latest results are based on interviewing conducted Sept. 28-30, a time period in which the American public watched the Dow Jones Industrial Average seesaw between a 700+ point loss and a 400+ point gain on Monday and Tuesday, while attempts by Congress to pass some type of legislation dealing with the financial crisis continued.
Barack Obama has moved to an eight point or higher lead several times since June, including after his foreign trip in July, after the Democratic National Convention, and more recently late last week. In each instance Obama was unable to sustain his lead, and John McCain was able to narrow the gap, as is happening now - to, at least, a modest degree. In addition to continuing action on the part of the Senate and Congress on a financial rescue bill, Thursday's vice presidential debate between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden could potentially have an effect on the horserace. (To view the complete trend since March 7, 2008, click here.) -- Frank Newport
(Click here to see how the race currently breaks down by demographic subgroup.)
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 Sept. 28-30, 2008. For results based on this sample of 2,746 registered voters, the maximum margin of sampling error is ±2 percentage points.
Interviews are conducted with respondents on landline telephones (for respondents with a landline 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.
