The Washington Post says its new poll (11 point lead to Obama) reveals a significant benefit to the Democratic contender from Colin Powell’s endorsement last Sunday:
Two in 10 independent voters said they are more inclined to vote for Obama because of Powell’s backing; 4 percent said they were nudged the other way.
The Democrats are also anticipating a big benefit from a huge surge in early voting:
In one swing state, North Carolina, Democratic early voting is up 400% in the first week, with similar patterns in Ohio, Iowa, Nevada and New Mexico.
Early voting now takes place in 34 states, although votes are only counted on 4 November.
Up to one-third of all ballots are expected to be cast before election day, compared to one in five in 2004.
In the past, Republicans have tended to benefit from early voting.
“This is like a mirror image of what we’ve seen in the past,” says Paul Gronke of the Early Voting Information Center at Reed College. “This cannot be good news for John McCain”.
Overall, early voting is running about twice as high this year as in 2004 in many states.
