Fowler said Obama's Utah supporters were warned not to expect much from the state.

"The fact that it's looking like a Democrat will do better than any Democrat has done in a long time in Utah says a lot about the volunteers," she said. "It really is exciting to see us having made this much progress."

Nikki Norton, one of the Democratic National Committee's paid staffers on the Obama campaign in Utah, acknowledged that an Obama victory here is a long shot.

"If we can pick up more votes for Democrats in Utah, that's a win," Norton said.

The poll also asked Utahns whether they approved of President Bush's job performance. Respondents were almost evenly split, with 49 percent saying they approved of what Bush, a Republican, is doing and 48 percent saying they disapproved.

While that's better than the president is doing nationally, his support is still dropping in Utah. Gallup Polls reported that his latest quarterly average for the nation, around 29 percent, is among the worst ever measured for a president.

Utahns liked Bush better last June, when 57 percent said they approved of his job performance and 42 percent said they disapproved. Jowers said the numbers show how difficult it is for a Republican to win the presidential race.

"Utah probably remains Bush's biggest supporter, but the fact that he didn't clear 50 percent has to be alarming," Jowers said, adding that McCain will have "to pull along a number of Bush haters just to have a chance of winning this."

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