Silver State polls show Obama lead

Riding a wave of discontent with the Bush administration and the economy, Barack Obama has taken a decisive lead in Nevada, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll released Wednesday.

The survey showed 52 percent of likely voters in the state planned to vote or already have voted for Obama, compared with John McCain's 40 percent. Early voting began Oct. 18.

The poll suggests a dramatic surge for the Democratic presidential candidate in a state that has been considered a toss-up for much of the campaign. As the economy turned south, Obama has pulled slightly ahead in other statewide polls, but this is his widest margin yet.

Voters seemed to have turned against President Bush, who won Nevada in 2000 and 2004 with conservative promises of smaller government and lower taxes.

In the most recent polling, 69 percent disapproved of how Bush was handling his job with 56 percent of those voicing strong disapproval.

The survey also showed Obama has a clear edge on the economy in the state, where the two major industries, tourism and construction, have been battered.

Economic conditions in Nevada worried 87 percent of respondents, while 71 percent expressed worry about their own family's financial situation. Of the worriers, about six in 10 support Obama.

The AP-GfK survey included landline phone interviews with 628 likely voters in Nevada. It was conducted from Oct. 22 through Sunday and has a sampling margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

A different poll shows Obama's lead over McCain is 5 points.

The new poll conducted for the Reno Gazette-Journal and KTVN-TV found 50 percent of likely voters statewide said they would vote for Obama, while 45 percent said they prefer McCain.

Research 2000 surveyed 600 likely voters from Saturday to Tuesday. The poll's margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.

"This is an election that will be very close," spokesman Rick Gorka said. "To think that it's anything but a toss-up would be presumptive and unwise."

Obama spokeswoman Kirsten Searer suggested Obama's regular appearances in Nevada were paying off. Obama scheduled a rally in Henderson on Saturday.

McCain last campaigned in the state Aug. 9 at a veterans convention in Las Vegas.