Poll: Obama gains but McCain remains Utah's choice

Utah is still as red as ever when it comes to presidential politics, but a new Deseret News/KSL-TV poll shows Republican John McCain's numbers slipping slightly while Democrat Barack Obama's are climbing.

Fifty-seven percent of the registered voters polled said if the election were held today, they'd vote for McCain. That's down from the 62 percent who said they backed him in September.

Obama, though, saw his support in Utah increase from 24 percent last month to 32 percent. A total of 1,205 registered voters were surveyed Oct. 24-30 by Dan Jones & Associates for the poll, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percent.

"It's been a long time since a Democrat's done that well," pollster Dan Jones said. He said some Utahns may still resent McCain for beating their choice for president, Mitt Romney, the former leader of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and a Mormon.

Not only did McCain win the GOP nomination, he passed Romney over for the No. 2 spot on the ticket in favor of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Palin initially boosted McCain in national polls but has become increasingly unpopular nationwide, and, Jones said, in Utah.

But McCain's Utah-based Western states regional coordinator, Tim Bridgewater, said the numbers are due to the campaign's focus on battleground states. Even the Utah campaign is directing all of its resources toward voters in Nevada, Colorado and New Mexico.

"We're confident we'll win Utah," Bridgewater said. Obama has had the benefit of more spending, he said, including a half-hour infomercial this week that ran on the major television networks.

"We just have not had any focus on the campaign here and Barack Obama has had national campaigning," Bridgewater said. "Some of that has probably resonated with Utah voters, where we have run a very targeted campaign."

Kirk Jowers, director of the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics and head of Utah Lawyers for McCain, said the poll results reflect the Republican candidate's difficult month on the campaign trail.

"McCain is still cruising to an easy victory here in Utah," Jowers said. "Obama has seen a strong increase in support across the nation, and this poll shows that Utah is also caught up in that momentum."

Obama's supporters in Utah couldn't be more pleased with the candidate's poll showing.

"I am actually thrilled by that," said Misty Fowler, who is the head of Utah for Obama. "It means that people are not only paying attention but that Utah sees the idea of hope in Obama. I think that's going to be great for our local down-ticket elections as well."