Nevada Poll: Obama 47 - McCain 45

A new Mason-Dixon poll  this morning shows Barack Obama making gains in Nevada. A previous Mason-Dixon poll from August showed John McCain leading by seven points.

"Since that time, the undecided number has shrunk by 9 percent and pretty much the entire swing has gone to Obama, noted Mark Peplowski, a political scientist at the College of Southern Nevada. 'Unless something happens to take the focus off the dismal state of the economy, he said, he would expect the trend to continue to favor Obama.

"All other things being equal, undecideds tend to swing toward the candidate they view as an instrument of change," he said. "If you were to take another survey this weekend, you would probably find an even bigger bump for Obama."

In Clark County, the Democratic stronghold that is home to more than 70 percent of the state's population, Obama led by 50 percent to 42 percent. Just as predictably, McCain led in rural Nevada, 55 percent to 38 percent.

But in Washoe County, once a Republican stronghold, McCain had 46 percent of the vote, Obama 45 percent.