McCain inches up in Harris poll

WASHINGTON, May 1 (UPI) -- The drawn-out battle for the Democratic U.S. presidential nomination has been good for the presumptive Republican nominee, a poll released Thursday indicated.

The latest Harris poll found that 39 percent of those surveyed said they would vote for Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., while 38 percent would vote for Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., if the election were held now. Last month, Clinton led McCain 39 percent to 35 percent.

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., would get 41 percent of the vote to 36 percent for McCain, almost the same as last month when 40 percent favored Obama and 35 percent McCain.

The poll was done before the Pennsylvania primary, which Clinton won.

Obama has a significant edge with independent voters. While 37 percent would vote for him and 30 percent for McCain, in a Clinton-McCain match-up only 30 percent would vote for her and 36 percent for the Republican.

Harris surveyed 2,869 U.S. adults online between April 11 and April 21.