A new poll shows the winds are changing in this year's election: for the first time since Hillary Clinton conceded her party's presidential nomination to Barack Obama, more Americans now expect Republican John McCain to defeat his Democrat opponent than vice versa.
According to Rasmussen Reports, which conducted the poll, McCain has surged from an 18-point deficit a month ago to a narrow lead over Barack Obama when voters were asked who is likely to win this year's presidential election.
"While McCain's 35 percent to 34 percent edge is statistically insignificant," says the Rasmussen Reports summary of the poll, "it is a remarkable turnaround from a month ago when 46 percent expected an Obama victory versus 28 percent who thought the Republican would win."
A Rasmussen official told WND this was the first time McCain has surpassed Obama since the polling firm began asking Americans who they thought would win the White House.
The survey also showed a dramatic leap in the excitement level Americans feel about the election.
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In mid-August, only 23 percent of those polled said they thought the election would be exciting. That number has now risen to 45 percent, and among likely McCain voters, the number has shot up from 20 percent to 53 percent.
Likely Obama supporters have shown a far more modest rise in enthusiasm, from 29 percent to 38 percent of respondents who said they found the election exciting.
In notable other polls from the electronic publishing firm, the Rasmussen Markets, which project the winner of the election from a stock market-like valuation based on Markets participants, show McCain likewise overcoming a major deficit (more than 60 percent expecting an Obama victory earlier) to now lead his Democratic opponent, 51.7 percent to 48.1 percent.
Rasmussen's Presidential Tracking Poll, which asks Americans daily who they will likely vote for, has shown the top two contenders within an average of roughly 5 points of each other since June. Today's report listed McCain with the edge, 49 percent to 47 percent.