(CNN) – A new poll indicates that a split on the right could allow Democrats to take over a congressional district they haven't won in generations.

According to a Siena College survey released Thursday, 33 percent of likely voters in New York's 23rd congressional district support Democrat Bill Owens, with 29 percent backing Republican Dierdre Scozzafava and 23 percent supporting Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman.

Scozzafava's dropped 6 points over the past two weeks, with Owens now up 5 points and Hoffman jumping 7 points. The Democrat's 4-point lead over the Republican is within the poll's sampling error.

The election in the three-way race to fill a vacant congressional seat is 19 days away. The office opened up after nine-term Republican Rep. John McHugh stepped down after being confirmed as Secretary of the Army. The largely rural district spans 11 counties in northern New York.

Republicans have represented this area of the state since 1872. McHugh never won less than 60 percent of the vote in his nine election victories, but Barack Obama did edge out John McCain in the district in last year's presidential election.

Scozzafava won the nomination in a vote taken by the 11 GOP county chairman in the district, rather than through a traditional primary election. The local Republican leaders picked the state assemblywoman, who is also backed by the National Republican Congressional Committee, because they felt her moderate views would appeal to centrist Republicans, independents, and even some Democrats.

The move sparked a revolt among many conservatives, who are angry with what they call her liberal views on same-sex marriage and abortion. They are backing Hoffman, an accountant, who is running on the Conservative Party line.

The poll indicates that Scozzafava is edging out Hoffman 40 percent to 27 percent among Republicans - but that 13 point lead is down from a 25 percent margin two weeks ago. According to the poll, 31 percent of independent voters back Hoffman, with 28 percent supporting Owens, a lawyer, and 24 percent backing Scozzafava. The survey suggests that Hoffman's gained 11 points among independents over the past two weeks.

Over that time period, the fiscally conservative Club for Growth and the Hoffman campaign have both hit the air with spots that paint the third-party candidate as the race's true conservative candidate.

"Scozzafava's seven-point lead has evaporated over the last two weeks, as voters have gotten to know all the candidates better," says Siena pollster Steven Greenberg. "Hoffman remains the least known candidate. Nearly half of those who say they are voting for Hoffman don't know enough about him to have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of him."

"There is a big geographic split in the district, which stretches across more than 200 miles and parts of 11 counties," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.

"According to the Siena poll, the Republican is ahead in the Watertown media market along the St. Lawrence river and the upper reaches of Lake Ontario. The Democrat has an advantage near the Vermont border and into the Albany media market. And the poll indicates that the third-party candidate may have the edge in the Syracuse media market at the western edge of the district."

The Siena College poll was conducted Sunday through Tuesday, with 617 likely voters in New York's 23rd congressional district questioned by telephone. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.

The number of Americans who are worried about the H1N1 flu has more than doubled since May, according to a new national poll.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – The number of Americans who are worried about the H1N1 flu has more than doubled since May, according to a new national poll. But the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Wednesday morning also indicates that most Americans have confidence in the government's ability to prevent a nationwide epidemic.

Thirty-nine percent of people questioned say they are worried that they or someone in their immediate family will get the H1N1 flu, with 17 percent suggesting they were concerned but not anymore and 44 percent saying they've never been worried. That 39 percent who say they are worried is more than double the 17 percent who felt the same way in May.

"Back in May, concerns about the flu were ebbing because flu season in the U.S. was nearing its end," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "But the flu didn't go away - it just moved to other places around the world. Now a new flu season is starting, and worries about H1N1 are back."

According to the poll, 59 percent are confident that the federal government can prevent a nationwide epidemic, with four in 10 not optimistic.

"That doesn't mean that the public thinks that the fight against the H1N1 flu will be easy - two-thirds of all adult Americans say they want to get a H1N1 flu shot if one is available, but only half think there will be enough vaccine to go around," adds Holland.

The two-thirds who say they would get a vaccine shot if one is available compares to the 53 percent who told a Gallup poll in 1976, the last time swine flu posed a serious threat, that they would get a swine flu shot.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll was conducted Friday through Monday, with 1,010 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points.

Obama's motorcade was stuck in DC traffic on the president's way to playing golf.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - If you think U.S. presidents are immune to traffic jams, think again.

President Barack Obama hit traffic early Sunday afternoon as he headed south on I-95 from the White House to Fort Belvoir, a military base in northern Virginia, where Obama was scheduled to play a round of golf.

According to the pool report, the president's motorcade hit a large traffic jam at the "Sprinfield interchange," where interstates 95, 395 and 495 all intersect. That stretch of road is known for bottlenecks.

After slogging through bumper to bumper conditions for 15 minutes, the motorcade cut across traffic and left the highway at exit 166.

Most Americans think the media is fair on Obama.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – A new national poll indicates that a majority of Americans think the media's been fair in its treatment of President Obama.

Fifty-five percent of those questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Sunday say they believe the news media's been fair in covering Obama since he was inaugurated as President on January 20. Twenty-six percent suggest that the media's not been critical enough, with 18 percent feeling that the news media's been too critical.

But the poll indicates that there is a partisan divide.

"Democrats and Independents view media coverage of Obama as fair. But 56 percent of Republicans say the media have not been critical enough of Obama," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll was conducted Wednesday and Thursday, with 1,046 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points.

Obama will sign his stimulus bill in Denver.

DENVER, Colorado (CNN) – Denver. Why Denver? There are several reasons why President Barack Obama will sign the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, better known as the Stimulus Plan, Tuesday in Colorado's capital city.

First of all, signing the bill outside of Washington allows Obama to escape the nation's capital, where the battle over the $787 billion piece of legislation turned into an ugly partisan battle, and to be close to people who the White House hopes will benefit from the massive bill.

The setting, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, is no accident either. Obama boasts that the stimulus will help create up to a half a million so called "green" jobs in the field of alternative energy. Prior to signing the bill into law, the president and Vice President Joe Biden will tour the museum's solar panel installation project.

Colorado has a growing green energy industry.

"Denver would be as good a place as any to highlight investments, putting people to work in energy jobs; investments that will help long-term growth," said White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.

And finally, the Democrats held their convention in Denver last August, where then-Senator Obama officially accepted his party's presidential nomination. Obama ended up winning Colorado in the presidential contest, one of three western states that swung from the Republicans to the Democrats.

Steven turns 85 Tuesday.

(CNN) - It may not be the happiest of birthday's for Ted Stevens. As the longtime Republican Senator from Alaska marks his 85th birthday, he's fighting for his political life.

Stevens was convicted last month of seven felony counts in federal court.

He's locked in a re-election battle with his Democratic challenger, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich. Two weeks after election day, the vote counting in Alaska continues. Begich currently leads Stevens by 1,022 votes in the fight for Steven's seat, which he's held for 40 years. Some 24,000 votes remain to be counted, as well as absentee ballots from overseas. The results may not be made final until the first week of December.

Back in Washington, Senate Republicans today could vote to expel Stevens from their ranks. This after a move by Sen. Jim DeMint, R-South Carolina, to force a vote on ousting Stevens from the GOP conference, which would strip him of his committee assignments if he survives his campaign battle and is re-elected.

Stevens is trying to become the first person awaiting felony sentencing to ever get elected or re-elected to the Senate. A federal jury found him guilty of lying about gifts and work on his Alaska home. Stevens says he's innocent and will appeal.

UPDATE: Moments after the GOP senators' meeting began Tuesday, DeMint announced he would put off the vote until after Alaska announces the final tally of the close election. An unofficial tally could come Tuesday night.

Jarrett is a longtime adviser to Obama.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - A longtime friend of Barack and Michelle Obama has officially been named a senior advisor to the incoming president.

President-elect Obama, in a statement released Saturday morning by his transition staff, announced that Valerie Jarrett will serve as Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Relations and Public Liaison. CNN Contributor Roland Martin reported the offer to Jarrett on Friday evening.

Jarrett is currently co-chair of Obama's transition team and was senior adviser for his presidential campaign. She became the president and CEO of The Habitat Company on January 31, 2007, and was also the company's vice president. The Habitat Company develops and manages residential apartments and condominiums.

Before joining The Habitat Company, Jarrett served for eight years in government for the city of Chicago; first as deputy corporation counsel for finance and development, then as deputy chief of staff for Mayor Richard M. Daley and finally as commissioner of the Department of Planning and Development.

Jarrett met Barack Obama when she hired his wife Michelle for a job in the Chicago mayor's office years ago and has be very close to the two of them ever since.

The transition team also made official Saturday the hiring of Ron Klain as chief of staff to the vice president, a story CNN first reported on Thursday. Klain was also chief of staff to Vice President Al Gore, but he's no stranger to Vice President-elect Joe Biden, having served as chief counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee when Biden was the committee chairman. Klain also served as general counsel of Gore's 2000 Florida recount effort, and was portrayed by actor Kevin Spacey in an HBO movie about the event.

This year Klain helped with debate preparation for both Obama and Biden.

In a statement released Saturday morning, Biden said "Ron Klain has been a trusted advisor of mine for over 20 years. He brings extraordinary judgment, a deep understanding of the important policy issues facing our nation, a wide range of experience in the executive, legislative and judicial branches of
government, as well as a unique understanding of how the Vice President's office works."

The transition team also announced Saturday that Phil Schiliro will serve as assistant to the president for legislative Affairs. Schiliro is currently director of congressional relations for the Obama transition team. Before that he was a senior adviser to Obama's presidential campaign.

Schiliro has worked in Congress for more than 25 years, in positions including chief of staff to Rep. Henry Waxman, D-California, and policy director for then-Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota and staff director for the Senate Democratic Leadership Committees.

A new poll out Wednesday shows a virtually tied race between Sens. McCain and Obama in key states.

Florida: Obama 48, McCain 48
Indiana: McCain 51, Obama 45
North Carolina: McCain 48, Obama 47
Ohio: Obama 49, McCain 47
Wisconsin: Obama 50, McCain 47

WASHINGTON (CNN) - New polls in five battleground states that could decide the presidency suggest the battle for the White House between Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama remains a dead heat.

The CNN/Time Magazine/Opinion Research Corp. polls, out Wednesday, indicate that the race for Florida, and its 27 electoral votes, is tied up.

Florida ultimately decided the 2000 election between then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush and then-Vice President Al Gore. Four years ago President Bush won the Sunshine State by 5 points over Sen. John Kerry.

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Sen. Obama campaigned in Virginia Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – New state polls indicate that the race for the White House remains a dead heat in four crucial battleground states that could determine the outcome of the election.

CNN/Time Magazine/Opinion Research Corporation polls for Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire and Virginia out Wednesday suggest the race between Senators Barack Obama and John McCain is statistically tied.

The survey has Illinois Senator Barack Obama up 4 points, 49 percent to 45 percent, in Michigan and ahead by 6 points, 51 percent to 45 percent, in New Hampshire. Both states voted for Democrat John Kerry in the last presidential election.

The poll has Arizona Senator McCain up 5 points in Missouri, 50 percent to 45 percent, and leading by 4 points in Virginia, 50 percent to 46 percent. President Bush kept both states in the Republican column four years ago.

Virginia hasn't voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since Lyndon Johnson took the state 44 years ago. But Obama is working hard to try and turn the red state blue: He's made numerous campaign stops there, including events Tuesday and Wednesday this week.

"The geographic patterns in Virginia are pretty much the same as in 2004, with one exception: In the area around Norfolk, Hampton Roads and Virginia Beach - a region John Kerry lost by four points - Obama appears to have a 13-point advantage. That's surprising for an area with several naval bases, and the headquarters of Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network. “Obama's getting about the same support in Northern Virginia that Kerry did four years ago,” says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. “But that wasn't enough to turn that state blue in 2004, and it's not enough in 2008. Obama needs to do better in Northern Virginia if he hopes to carry the state."

Michigan has voted for Democratic presidential candidates in the past four elections, but it's a state that McCain hopes to turn red this time around. McCain and his running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, campaigned in the state on Friday.

“Something may be happening in Michigan,” adds Holland. “Oakland and Macomb counties, the Detroit suburbs that were the home of the Reagan Democrats, went for Bush in 2004 by a combined total of just one percentage point. But today McCain has an 18-point lead over Obama.

“So where is Obama making up the ground he is losing in the Detroit suburbs? In the southwestern part of the state, Obama currently has a 9-point edge, even though that area gave Bush a 19-point margin four years ago," he says.

While the overall political climate appears to benefit the Democrats in 2008 - thanks to an unpopular Republican president, an unpopular war in Iraq, and an ailing economy - the race for the White House remains tight, both in national polls and state polls.

"All four states are voting the same way they voted in 2004, although all are close and the Democratic ticket is doing slightly better in each,” says CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider. “It's as if very little has changed in four years. In all four states, partisans are lining up solidly with their party Independents are the key swing group. Independents are voting for Obama in New Hampshire and Michigan and for McCain in Missouri and Virginia."

The CNN Electoral Map suggests that if the presidential election were held today, Obama would win 243 electoral votes to McCain's 189, with 106 electoral votes still up for grabs (270 electoral votes are needed to win the White House). CNN's Electoral College estimate is based on several factors, including the most recent state polls, voting trends and campaign advertising spending.

The CNN/Time Magazine/Opinion Research Corporation polls were conducted Sunday through Tuesday, with 966 registered voters in Michigan, 940 registered voters in Missouri, 899 registered voters in New Hampshire, and 920 registered voters in Virginia questioned by telephone. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points in Michigan, Missouri and New Hampshire and 3.5 percentage points in New Hampshire.