CNN poll: Post-Biden poll shows dead heat
DENVER, Colorado (CNN) - It’s a dead heat in the race for the White House. The first national poll conducted entirely after Barack Obama publicly named Joe Biden as his running mate suggests that battle for the presidency between the Illinois senator and Republican rival John McCain is all tied up.
In a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll out Sunday night, 47 percent of those questioned are backing Obama with an equal amount supporting the Arizona senator.
“This looks like a step backward for Obama, who had a 51 to 44 percent advantage last month,” says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.
“Even last week, just before his choice of Joe Biden as his running mate became known, most polls tended to show Obama with a single-digit advantage over McCain,” adds Holland.
So what’s the difference now?
It may be supporters of Hillary Clinton, who still would prefer the Senator from New York as the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee.
Sixty-six percent of Clinton supporters, registered Democrats who want Clinton as the nominee, are now backing Obama. That’s down from 75 percent in the end of June. Twenty-seven percent of them now say they’ll support McCain, up from 16 percent in late June.
“The number of Clinton Democrats who say they would vote for McCain has gone up 11 points since June, enough to account for most although not all of the support McCain has gained in that time,” says Holland.
Clinton and Obama battled throughout the primary season, with Clinton winning more than 40 percent of the delegates. She suspended her bid for the White House and backed Obama in early June, after the end of the primary season.
A majority of registered voters, 54 percent, think Obama’s choice of Delaware Senator Joe Biden as his running mate is an excellent or good decision. That number jumps to 73 percent when just asked of registered Democrats. But it drops to 59 percent when narrowed to Clinton supporters.
“It's not that there's anything wrong with the choice of Joe Biden. A majority of those polled rate the Biden selection as excellent or pretty good. Voters think he is qualified to be president, and with the exception of Al Gore in 1992, the public ranks Biden as the most qualified running mate in recent times," says Holland.
"A lot of Americans don't know who he is, but his favorable rating is 13 points higher than his unfavorables But Biden is not Hillary Clinton, and it's possible that is enough to have moved some of her supporters away from the Democratic ticket, at least temporarily."
Among all Democrats, only 38 percent say Obama should have selected Clinton as his running mate.
Will Biden’s naming as Obama’s running mate make a difference? Maybe not. Seventy-four percent of all voters questioned in the survey say it won’t have any effect on their vote for president.
The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll was conducted on Saturday and Sunday, with 1,023 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey’s sampling error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points for all voters. For registered Democrats, it is plus or minus 4.5 percentage points, and for Democrats who still support Clinton for the party's nomination, it is plus or minus 7.5 percentage points.
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It's one poll.... you guys should know better than to make any judgments based upon a single poll. Besides, isn't it good news that Clinton supporters haven't swarmed to McCain since the Biden announcement. Just wait... they will come back, and Obama will win in a landslide.
Obama/Biden '08
Once again, I am sick of people telling me who to vote for 'or else'......or else what? Your nominee won't win? Whatever, if Obama loses, it is his own arrogant fault. If McCain loses, then it is his own ignorant fault. I dont like either and won't vote for either....we do have other choices ya know.
GOOD IM VOTING MCAIN TWO. BIDEN IS NOT CHANGE
It would be extremely refreshing if the media got out of the way. It would be nice to hear from the candidates, and the different tickets, rather than pollsters and media pundits. It would be extraordinary if the American public were allowed to hear as much from the candidates, unedited, as we hear from the press.
If Obama loses, Hillary has no one to blame but herself. She single-handedly divided her party and has no plan to unify it!!!
Chris (WA) -> your prob is that anyone against Obama is a racist. I hate that. God forbid a white man talk bad about a black man. I'm not going to be scared into voting for the most liberal politician since Michael Moore!
Also, mb-texas, what in the world are you talking about???? Don't you know Obama has had a free ride with 1. the media and 2. any comedian between the atlantic and the pacific. It goes also to Chris (W), everyone is so scared to say anything bad about a black man, because of course if we do, your a racist. It is total BS, and you all freakin know it!!!!!
Obama picks Biden on Saturday and CNN conducts a poll on Sunday. Come on CNN give people a chance to appreciate the pick. My goodness!
Seems like CNN has really become biased to the right!!! It' s so obvious!!!
This is the saddest commentary ever. The entire argument is ridiculous. Clinton lost. Obama won. Why? Not because the media tweaked the process, but because one ran a more organized and long term campaign. If you had told me that she was not going to be the nominee a year ago i would have laughed. This never should have gotten past a few primaries but it did. Kudos to Obama for having the better end game. HRC must try again , but this ain't her turn....PERIOD!
NFL( Not For Long). The people are waking up and the fear game is over. McSame and PUMA is DEAD and gone in this election. Their game is weaK and we are not going to take it any more.
Obama08
First off, these polls are a bunch of crap...and secondly, for any of HRC supporters that are stupid enough to vote for McCain just because they're bitter or upset, it just goes the show the level of ignorance that exist in our country...they better make sure that it's worth furthering the downward spiral of this "great nation" for the next 4 years
Two words: outlier poll.
To never obama, you are an evil racist and the same hole you are wishing someone puts in Obama will be the one same one you inflict upon yourself.
What I would suggest you do is instead of wearing your sheet at night wear it in the day time you corporate coward.
So what exactly has changed about McCain in the 4 years since the democrats asked him to be Kerry's VP?
All this "4 more years of the same", etc. ignores that this isn't a typical republican candidate, and shows just how quick people are to buy the party line.
An HRC supporter choosing McCain isn't all that unreasonable. He's the closest thing to the center that this race has.
McCain are a leader and still the Leader he no need any help to winner the election on Nov 04 2008 .
Obama are Fidel Castro they great on talk ,after the ending are same crack ,crazy , and illusionist ,Obama believe he are god ,what idiot candidate .
Yep, millions of us Hillary supporters are not happy that Obama did not pick Hillary for veep.
She should run on an independent ticket.
The Dems are running the most liberal ticket – maybe in all of history!
Are they serious about wanting the White House? I have a hard time believing it. Most American's do not believe in such radical views!
Is this party really that out of touch with mainstream Americans?
Hello Moderator:
Still awaiting moderation? Seems like there's been of lot of comments that have been posted since the one I submitted below. So much for real journalism.
–Nate
– – –
Nate Scott August 24th, 2008 8:26 pm ET
Your comment is awaiting moderation.
More CNN nonsense. This is just more of the same manipulative journalism by Wolf Blitzer & Company to appeal to the worst element of the American political psyche. Having watched the Obama-Clinton tussle and how CNN recklessly injected a strong heft of anti-Obama bias by constantly bringing up unsubstantiated allegations and so forth, one starts to get the impression of exactly where CNN is coming from. It's called "The Power Of Suggestion".
I can't wait for McCain to pick him.
McCain/Powell 08
Nice ring to it.
i am finding news on the political campaign on this website to be completely uninspiring. Lets read something indepth/interesting. Your readership is not made up solely of soundbyte and poll sucking idiots.
Some of the comments saying CNN is stirring it up, must be watching to much of the communist news channel, NBC
LOL.. GUYS I WORK FOR A SPECIAL MEDIA BROADCASTING COMPANY THAT I WON'T DISCLOSE BUT IT'S OUR JOB TO CREATE NEWS. .. DUH OR ELSE OUR SPONSORS.... WELL, I'LL STOP RIGHT THERE. EVEN THOUGH I AM FOR OBAMA I SEE FIRST AND FOREMOST IT'S NOT ABOUT THE CANDIDATES, IT'S ABOUT THE DINERO SENOR.
Please tell me what experience you need to be president, and also what gives any of you the right to determine what that experience is? Are all of you'll former presidents?
John McCain, for all his time in Washington and 'experience' sides with Bush 95% of the time. Thats a fact and can be looked up. So your 'experienced' candidate agrees with the most hated US president in history in almost everything. That is, everything that has us slipping off the world superpower table.
What does that say for your experience argument?
The Democratic Party has become part and parcel of Obama's hypocrisy. Now the DNC want to seat all the Florida and Michigan delegates; what a farce. What an insult to the whole process and to Hillary.
Time for McCain.
A whining entitled woman caused this mess – quit blaming Obama
Women have been set back 50 years by this entitlement by a clinton