Obama-Biden Lead McCain-Palin 49% - 41%; Independents View Democrats More Favorably than GOP Candidates

New York, NY - Leading up to the final Presidential debate tonight, today's Diageo/Hotline Daily Tracker Poll shows another day of the Obama-Biden ticket with a solid lead ahead of the GOP ticket of John McCain and Sarah Palin.

In today's Poll, Obama-Biden are at 49%, McCain-Palin are at 41%, with 7% of likely voters undecided.

General Election Ballot: McCain-Palin v Obama-Biden*

In the context of the recent coverage of McCain's economic plan for the country, today's Poll also shows Obama with a 6-point swing since the October 14 Poll on his perceived performance on the top issue of the economy.

The Poll shows Obama continuing to build momentum against McCain on this measure.

Who would do Best Job Handling the Economy?*

Recap: Past Debate Performance

While tonight is the final Presidential debate, looking at perceived performance in the last Presidential debate on October 7, the October 11 Diageo/Hotline Tracker Poll showed that likely voters viewed Obama as the better performer and the overall "winner" of the debate.

Who Won Second Presidential Debate, October 8 - 10, 2008*

(n=570 likely voters, MoE =+/-4.1%)

And, looking further back to the first Presidential debate on September 26, the majority of registered voters in the September 30 Poll said that Obama was the "winner".

Who Won First Presidential Debate, September 27 - 29, 2008*

(n=578 registered voters, MoE =+/-4.1%)

Focus on Candidate Images

The favorability ratings of both candidates remain close, with both being viewed favorably by most likely voters. Obama has a slight edge over McCain (2-points), well within the margin of error. Self-identified Independent likely voters are more inclined to report that they have a favorable view of Obama over McCain (Obama: 55% favorable v. McCain: 50% favorable).

Favorability: Obama v McCain*

Among the vice Presidential hopefuls, the Poll shows a consistently larger margin between the Democrat Biden over his GOP counterpart, Palin (53% - 46%).

Among self-identified Independent likely voters, 52% report that they view Biden favorably, while 45% say the same for Palin.

Favorability: Biden v Palin*

* data presented in charts based on rolling 3-day average of 800+ likely voter interviews (out of 900+ registered voter interviews) concluded the previous day. This is based on at least 300 interviews conducted daily.

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