WASHINGTON -- Barack Obama erased Hillary Rodham Clinton's once-imposing lead among superdelegates Saturday when he added more endorsements from the group of Democrats who will decide the party's nomination for president. Click here to view story
Key quote: "Obama - who is said to have resisted the idea privately - fueled the talk himself yesterday, telling CNN that Clinton is "an extraordinary candidate ... so obviously she'd be on anybody's short list to be a potential vice presidential candidate."
Key quote: "Online newspaper Politico reported that supporters and opponents manoeuvred for face time with Senator Obama, from 73-year-old Minnesota Democrat James Oberstar patiently waiting his turn to Alcee Hastings, a Democrat from Florida and a Clinton supporter, who ended up giving Senator Obama a big hug."
Key quote: "Democrat Barack Obama earned more support from party leaders and won praise from former rival John Edwards on Friday..."
Key quote: "Barack Obama's sprint to the Democratic nomination received another boost Friday as two more superdelegates pledged their support, including one who dropped his backing for Hillary Rodham Clinton's faltering White House bid."
Daily Presidential Tracking Poll Rasmussen Reports has been tracking the race for the Democratic Presidential nomination daily for nineteen months since November 2006. For the last few months, the most remarkable feature of the race has been its consistency and stability. Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are both running historic campaigns and both have captured the votes and hearts of distinct and important constituencies within the Democratic Party. Obama has won Primaries in states where the demographics favor his campaign and Clinton has won in the states that favor her campaign.
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Friday shows Barack Obama attracting 47% of the vote while John McCain earns 44%. This is the fourth straight day that Obama has had at least a one-point advantage over McCain. While it is not a statistically significant lead, it is the first time Obama has led McCain on consecutive days in two months. The last time Obama outpolled McCain for four straight days was in mid-February (see recent daily results) key to this changing dynamic is that Obama now leads McCain among unaffiliated voters by nine percentage points.
As we look to November, the Obama-McCain match-up will feature a clear generational component. Obama leads by twenty-three percentage points among voters under 40 while McCain leads by eleven among those over 50.
In todays tracking, Hillary Clinton has a five-point lead over McCain, 48% to 43%. Tracking results are updated daily by 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Rasmussen Markets data gives Democrats a 61.7 % chance of winning in November.
Daily tracking results are collected via nightly telephone surveys and reported on a four-day rolling average basis. The general election sample is currently based upon interviews with 1,600 Likely Voters. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.
The movement of Democratic superdelegates to presidential hopeful Barack Obama gained steam Friday with four new endorsements, including a union president and a congressman who switched his backing from rival Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Thursday that Republican John McCain was "losing his bearings" for repeatedly suggesting the Islamic terrorist group Hamas preferred Obama for president.
Key quote: "As the tall, poised black woman takes the stage in the vast indoor sports stadium, an extraordinary wave of sound runs through the 8,000-strong crowd and bounces off the rafters: a sort of deafening ululation, a wild, excited keening unlike anything I have heard at a political rally."
Key quote: "Who knew, for instance, that Usher (left) -- the R&B singer and record-label owner, identified in the Obama release by his full name, Usher Raymond IV -- had an interest in the nitty-gritty of political organizing?"
Key quote: "Barack Obama has built a massive campaign war chest through a 1.5-million-strong army of campaign contributors."
Key quote: "This year, both sides are setting their sights on distant targets. The result may be a scrambled battleground map that mixes traditional swing states with those long thought to be in one camp or the other long before November."
Key quote: "Former Michigan Rep. David Bonior, who directed John Edwards' presidential campaign, endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for president Thursday, saying he's the best candidate to fight for working people."
Missouri: McCain 47% Obama 41% The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in Missouri shows that John McCain retains a significant lead over his likely opponent, Barack Obama. McCain attracts 47% of the Show-Me State vote while Obama earns 41%. A month ago <McCain led Obama 53% to 38%. In February before McCain wrapped up the nomination and before the Democratic competition became so heated, McCains advantage over Obama was just two percentage points. has opened a significant lead over both potential Democratic opponents in the state of Missouri. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey finds John McCain leading Hillary Clinton by nine percentage points, 50% to 41%. He leads Barack Obama by an even larger margin, 53% to 38%. Twenty-one percent (21%) of Missouri Democrats currently say they will vote for McCain while Obama attracts 14% of GOP voters. McCain has the advantage among unaffiliated voters. In the unlikely event that Hillary Clinton wins the Democratic Presidential nomination, McCain has a smaller advantage in Missouri. He leads the former First Lady by a statistically insignificant margin, 45% to 43%. Individual polls can sometimes overstate volatility in a race, especially when the results carry a four-and-a-half percentage point margin of sampling error. One way of addressing this is to look at a rolling-average of three consecutive polls. Using this approach, McCain leads Obama 47% to 40%. With a three-poll average, McCain leads Clinton 46% to 42%. McCain is currently viewed favorably by 55% of Missouri voters, Obama by 46%, and Clinton by 45%. For McCain, thats down four points from a month ago, but up one since February. For Obama, its down a point over the past month and down three over the past two months. Clintons total is unchanged from a month ago and down two since February. Opinions remain more intense about the Democratic candidates. Obama is viewed Very Favorably by 23% and Very Unfavorably by 33% of Missouri voters. For Clinton, those numbers are 17% Very Favorable and 32% Very Unfavorable. Just 17% have a Very Favorable opinion of McCain while just 19% have a Very Unfavorable opinion of him. Missouri is a classic swing state in Presidential Elections that almost always awards its Electoral College Votes to the candidate who wins the White House. George W. Bush won those 11 Electoral Votes four years ago by winning the popular vote 53% to 46%. Rasmussen Markets data shows that Republicans are currently given a 63.0 chance of winning Missouris Eleven Electoral College Votes this fall. George W. Bush won the state twice by double digits. Missouri is a classic swing state that almost always votes for the winning Presidential candidate. At the time this poll was released, Missouri is ranked as Leans Republican in the Rasmussen Reports Balance of Power Calculator. Fifty-percent (50%) of Missouri voters favor a summer holiday for the federal tax on gasoline. Forty percent (40%) are opposed. Nationally, voters are evenly divided on the topic. Lower-income voters are more supportive of the tax holiday than upper-income voters. Thirty-one percent (31%) of Missouri voters believe the federal government needs more revenue to fund important national programs. Fifty-two percent (52%) disagree. Sixty-five percent (65%) are worried that the next President will raise taxes too much and harm the economy. Just 32% are worried that the next President will cut taxes too much and harm important government programs. By a 67% to 17% margin, Missouri voters oppose an increase in the capital gains tax. Fifty-eight percent (58%) believe such a tax hike would hurt the economy. Fifty-six percent (56%) of Missouri voters own at least $5,000 worth of stocks, bonds, or mutual funds. This survey was conducted in partnership with Fox Television Stations Inc. This telephone survey of 500 Likely Voters was conducted by Rasmussen Reports on May 6, 2008. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 4 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.
Key quote: "Barack Obama is looking at May 20 as the end date for his Democratic primary run, even though that date won’t seal the deal."
Georgia: McCain 53% Obama 39% John McCain continues to enjoy a solid lead over both potential Democratic opponents in Georgia. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the Peach State found McCain leading Barack Obama 53% to 39% and Hillary Clinton 48% to 37% . For an Obama-McCain match-up, those numbers are virtually identical to last months results. Clinton is doing a bit better against McCain than she was a month ago. Clinton and McCain essentially split the votes of women but the GOP candidate leads by twenty-seven points among men. When matched against Obama, leads by eight among women and by twenty-two points among men. McCain is viewed favorably by 59% of Georgia voters, down from 64% in March. Obamas favorable ratings are at 43% while Clintons are at 39%. Rating for both Democrats are down two points from a month ago. Rasmussen Markets data shows that Republicans are currently given a 95.0 chance of winning Georgia's fifteen Electoral College Votes this fall. George W. Bush won the state twice by double digits. Bill Clinton eked out a narrow Georgia victory in 1992 but lost the state to Bob Dole in 1996. At the time this poll was released, Georgia was rated as Safely Republican in the Rasmussen Reports Balance of Power Calculator. The Senate race in Georgia also looks good from the GOP perspective. Fifty-five percent (55%) of Georgia voters favor a federal gas tax holiday this summer while 34% are opposed. Thats a bit more support than the proposal gets nationally. Both nationally and in Georgia, support for suspending the gas tax is strongest among lower-income voters. Sixty-four percent (64%) of all Georgia voters correctly identify Obama as the candidate opposed to suspending the federal gas tax. By a two-to-one margin, 56% to 29%, Georgia voters reject the notion that the federal government needs more revenue. In fact, 64% are worried that the next President will raise taxes too much and harm the economy. Only 30% worry that the next President will cut taxes so much that it will harm important government programs. By a 64% to 13% margin, Georgia voters oppose a hike in the capital gains tax. Those figures are very close to the national average. Fifty-eight percent (58%) believe that hiking the capital gains tax will hurt the economy. Sixty-one percent (61%) of Georgias Likely Voters own at least $5,000 worth of stocks, bonds, or mutual funds. This telephone survey of 500 Likely Voters was conducted by Rasmussen Reports on May 6, 2008. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 4 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.
Barack Obama is trying to win over superdelegates and says he's not taking the Democratic presidential nomination for granted.
Obama created a stir Thursday in an unannounced visit during House votes that lasted more than half an hour. He was surrounded by well-wishers calling him, "Mr. President" and reaching out to pat him on the back.
Key quote: "There were elements of the Republican Party, including Rush Limbaugh, Sen. Clinton's new ally, who were urging people to cross over and vote for her," said Axelrod, referring to the Limbaugh-led "Operation Chaos,"
Key quote: "Republican John McCain criticized Democratic rival Barack Obama for voting against John Roberts as U.S. chief justice, reaching out to the Christian right on one of their chief concerns: the proper role of judges in government."
Key quote: "David Plouffe, manager of Barack Obama's presidential campaign, just told reporters on a conference call that "we can see the finish line here" and that the Obama team believes the Oregon and Kentucky primaries on May 20 will put the senator over a critical mark."
Key quote: "Barack Obama's march toward the Democratic presidential nomination picked up support from four more superdelegates Wednesday, pushing him ever closer to victory over Hillary Rodham Clinton — even as their primary marathon staggered on."
Key quote: "How do the Obamas invest their money? Very, very safely—like a couple who wants no risk of ever being middle-class again."
Key quote: "Hillary Clinton blew her last, best chance to turn in a game-changing primary win Tuesday night, as Barack Obama rolled to a landslide in North Carolina while Clinton barely edged him in Indiana."
Key quote: "Many Democrats are frustrated and fatigued by the longest U.S. presidential nomination battle most have witnessed, and the divisions in its wake have left some wondering if they can back the ultimate winner."
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