Democrat Barack Obama has a narrow three-point lead in the US presidential race on Republican John McCain less than a month before the election, according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll released today.
Mr Obama leads Mr McCain among likely US voters by 48 per cent to 45 per cent in the national poll, which has a margin of error of 2.8 percentage points.
Four per cent of voters said they were still undecided on who to vote for in the November 4th election.
The two candidates meet in Nashville tonight for the second of three presidential debates. The debate at Belmont University will be a town hall style meeting with questions posed by undecided voters, a format that often favours Mr McCain.
It comes, however, after three weeks of plunging poll numbers for the Republican, who announced last week that he is pulling out of Michigan, a key battleground state, to target resources on states President George W. Bush won in 2004.
Today's survey showed Mr Obama with an advantage among the crucial swing voting blocs of independents and women. He led among independents by 49 per cent to 42 per cent and among women by 51 per cent to 42 per cent.
The 47-year-old Illinois senator, who would be the first black US president, won 9 of every 10 black voters in the poll and led among Hispanics, young voters, self-described moderates and those making less than $50,000 a year.
Mr McCain (72), an Arizona senator, led among men, whites, older voters, Catholics, and those making more than $100,000 a year.
Each candidate has solidified support in their own party, the poll found, earning nearly 9 of every 10 members.
Strong voter registration efforts launched by Democrats appeared to pay off, with Mr Obama leading Mr McCain by 63 per cent to 47 per cent among voters who have registered to vote in the last six months.
But the bruising nature of the campaign has taken a toll on both candidates, who registered favourable scores from barely more than 50 per cent of the voters in the survey. Mr McCain was rated favourably by 57 per cent, while Mr Obama was rated favourably by 55 per cent.
Independent Ralph Nader and Libertarian Bob Barr each registered support from 1 per cent of respondents in the poll.