Demographic Groups Shift in Battleground Polls

Sara Murray reports on the presidential race. A closer review of four battleground state polls , first released last week, shows Barack Obama lost ground with key demographic groups while John McCain enjoyed gains among the same groups. The Quinnipiac University poll , conducted in partnership with The Wall Street Journal and washingtonpost.com, surveyed voters in Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. It showed a slimmer lead for Obama in each state except for Colorado, where McCain overtook Obama from June to July. A change in position among some key demographic groups likely contributed to the tightening. Obama’s favorability among white males, young voters (between ages 18 and 34), independents and women fell from June to July in every state. The one exception was women in Wisconsin, where Obama saw a three percentage point gain. McCain had a far better month. His favorability among each of the groups in all states either grew or went unchanged. Young voters in ... (link)