CHICAGO, May 11 (UPI) -- State Sen. Barack Obama, who won an overwhelming victory in Illinois' March Democratic primary, has a big lead in the race for U.S. Senate, a poll said.
A survey of 400 registered voters, conducted by Wilson Research Strategies, show the African-American lawmaker with a 16-point lead over Republican Senate nominee Jack Ryan for the seat being vacated by Sen. Peter Fitzgerald, R-Ill.
That Illinois Senate seat may be pivotal in determining which party controls the U.S. Senate after the November election.
Obama led Ryan, a millionaire-banker-turned-Catholic-schoolteacher, 44 percent to 28 percent, with 18 percent of respondents undecided. Obama held a big lead among independents.
"We anticipate this race will tighten soon when voters start paying greater attention to politics," said Jim Adams, president and chief operating officer of Wilson Research Strategies.
The survey was conducted May 4 and 5 and had a margin of error of 4.9 percentage points.
