Poll: Obama Gaining on Clinton in Pennsylvania

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton leads Barack Obama by 6 points among likely Pennsylvania Democratic primary voters but he is chipping away at her lead, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released on Tuesday.

With two weeks to go until the state’s April 22 primary, Clinton has a 50 percent to 44 percent lead, the poll found.

In the last poll on April 2, Clinton had a 9-point lead over the Illinois senator, 50 percent to 41 percent.

Obama and Clinton, a New York senator, are fighting to be their party’s nominee in the November presidential election against Republican Sen. John McCain.

Among Pennsylvania women, support for Clinton remained steady at 54 percent, but Obama gained ground in the new poll with 41 percent. In the earlier survey, 37 percent of women favored Obama.

The poll found that among white voters, Obama gained 4 points to 38 percent support, while Clinton slipped 3 points to 56 percent.

Among voters under age 44, support for Obama was up 4 percentage points to 55 percent. Clinton dropped 2 points to 40 percent support in that age group, the poll found.

Fifty-two percent of Pennsylvania Democrats said the economy was the single most important issue in deciding their primary vote, followed by 22 percent who said the war in Iraq and 15 percent who cited health care.

Voters who list the economy as the top issue gave Clinton a small 49 percent to 45 percent margin over Obama, down from 53 percent to 39 percent. Voters who say the war is the preeminent issue back Obama 51 percent to 44 percent for Clinton.

The poll of the 1,340 Pennsylvania likely Democratic primary voters was conducted April 3-6 with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points.

(Reporting by Joanne Allen; Editing by Doina Chiacu)

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