Poll Has Oklahomans Leaning Towards McCain

As the clock counts down to Super Tuesday, Oklahomans seem to be jumping on the John McCain bandwagon and giving Hillary Clinton the edge for the Democrats.  The News On 6 and the Tulsa World are releasing a new Oklahoma Poll on Sunday that measures the local political landscape as voters make their pick for president.

With his recent primary victories and endorsements, John McCain is now the preferred candidate among Oklahoma Republicans with 40%.  He has a two-to-one lead over former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.

When the same question was asked in mid-December, Huckabee had an almost two-to-one lead over McCain.

Oklahoma Democrats are starting to line-up behind Hillary Clinton, but John Edwards who was still in the race when the poll was conducted has strong support in the state.

Senator Clinton leads among Oklahoma Democrats with 41%, followed by Edwards with 24% and Barack Obama with 17%.

When asked how the leading candidates would do against each other in November, John McCain took the state.  He wins with 58% over Clinton, who gets 36% and Obama with 30%.

The poll indicates Edwards would have been the strongest Democrat with 40% to McCain's 52% in a head-to-head contest.

The latest Oklahoma Poll sampled 750 likely voters in late January and has a margin of error of about four percent.

For more about the Oklahoma Poll, pick up Sunday's edition of the Tulsa World.