By Prensa Latina,
Washington : US Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama is ahead his Republican rival, John McCain, according to a poll carried out in South Florida, a key region for the upcoming elections.
Obama is ahead 46-30 percent over McCain in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties in the survey of 807 people conducted by Zogby International, the Miami Herald reported.
“Obama’s 16-point lead in South Florida could springboard him to make it a competitive race statewide,” said pollster John Zogby.
However, nearly 24 percent of those surveyed favor another candidate or have not made up their mind, so they could tilt the balance in favor of any of the two candidates over the next few months.
South Florida traditionally votes Democratic, but Obama’s lead in Miami-Dade is wider than the narrow margin of victory posted by 2004 Democratic nominee John Kerry, the newspaper added.
Obama, who lost the primaries in the region to New York Senator Hillary Clinton, succeeded in winning potential voters who favored his former rival, and leads McCain 40 to 35 percent among Hispanics.
Florida decided the 2000 elections in favor of incumbent President George W. Bush, amid denunciations of irregularities in the vote-counting process and although the Democratic candidate had won more votes.