Gallup Shows Biggest Obama Lead—Even as McCain Gains

After a Gallup poll yesterday showed Barack Obama with his biggest lead to date among all registered voters, at 9%, a Gallup/USA Today survey out today has John McCain ahead among those voters deemed most likely to actually go to the polls in November. A rep for Gallup—which conducts a daily “tracking poll” of registered voters—calls the varying data “statistical noise.”

Of the survey that showed McCain up 4 points (49%-45%) among likely voters after being down 6% in late June, Frank Newport said that “registered voters are much more important.” Obama leads in that category by only 3 points (47%-44%). Needless to say, it remains unclear which candidate got the bump from the Democrat’s world tour.