New National Poll Finds McCain/Palin Leads Obama/Biden 45% To 43%; Running Ahead Among Men

New National Poll Finds McCain/Palin Leads Obama/Biden 45% To 43%; Running Ahead Among Men

10% Remain Undecided

Obama leads (55%) among those whose personal finances are worse compared to last year

LANCASTER, Pa., Sept. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Franklin & Marshall College National Poll, produced in partnership with Hearst-Argyle Television, finds that John McCain/Sarah Palin lead Barack Obama/Joe Biden nationally by two percentage points (45% to 43%) among registered voters, with 10% undecided. McCain has an advantage among men (52% to 37%), those over 55 (48% to 37%), whites (53% to 35%), fundamentalist Christians (60% to 30%, up from an 8% lead in a June poll), military veterans (58% to 29%), and among Southerners (50% to 36%). Obama leads among women (48% to 38%), those between 18-34 years of age (49% to 39%), Catholics (45% to 41%), African Americans (85% to 2%), and those living in the Northeast (53% to 35%).

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080626/NYTH050LOGO )

Other findings show that a substantial majority (73%) of registered American voters believe the country is off on the wrong track, and more than a third (38%) say they are worse off financially this year than last. Obama is the choice of those who say the country is off on the wrong track (53% to 33%), while McCain has substantial support from those who feel the country is moving in the right direction (82% to 12%). Obama leads among those whose personal finances are worse off compared to last year (55% to 28%), and McCain does well among those whose personal finances are better than last year (63% to 28%).

To view more findings, including those for various demographics including age, and religious and regional preferences, go to: http://www.fandm.edu/x2217.xml.

This is the second national poll in a series produced at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa., with Hearst-Argyle; the partnership, whose first poll was in June 2008, was forged out of a longstanding regional relationship between Franklin & Marshall and Hearst-Argyle station WGAL-TV, the NBC affiliate serving the Lancaster/Harrisburg TV market. The Franklin & Marshall College Poll has assessed the views of the residents and voters of Pennsylvania since 1992, and past polls and other analysis also can be found at http://politics.fandm.edu/

These results are based on interviews conducted September 15-21, 2008. The interviews were conducted at the Center for Opinion Research at Franklin & Marshall College under the direction of the poll's Director, Dr. G. Terry Madonna; Head Methodologist, Berwood Yost; and Project Managers, Jennifer Harding and Brad Nankerville. The data included in this release represent the responses of 1,320 registered voters in the United States. Telephone numbers for the survey were generated using random digit dialing, and respondents were randomly selected from within each household. Survey results were weighted using an iterative weighting algorithm. The sample error for registered adults is +/- 2.7 percent.

Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc. owns 26 television stations, and manages an additional three television and two radio stations owned by Hearst Corporation, in geographically diverse U.S. markets. The Company's television stations reach approximately 18% of U.S. TV households, making it one of America's largest television station groups. Hearst-Argyle owns 12 ABC-affiliated stations, and manages an additional ABC station owned by Hearst Corporation, and is the largest ABC affiliate group. The Company also owns 10 NBC affiliates, and is the second-largest NBC affiliate owner, and owns two CBS affiliates. Also, Hearst-Argyle owns more than 30 Websites and currently multicasts 18 digital weather channels. The company's Web address is www.hearstargyle.com

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: tcampo@hearst.com

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080626/NYTH050LOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com

Source: Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc.

CONTACT: Dr. G. Terry Madonna, Director of the Center for Politics and
Public Affairs, Director, Franklin and Marshall College Poll, Professor of
Public Affairs, Franklin & Marshall College, +1-717-291-4052, cell,
+1-717-575-2164, fax, +1-717-358-4666, terry.madonna@fandm.edu; or Tom Campo,
Campo Communications, LLC, +1-212-590-2464, tom@campocommunications.com, for
Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc.

Web site: http://www.fandm.edu/x2217.xml
http://politics.fandm.edu/
http://www.hearstargyle.com/

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