Rasmussen poll: McCain draws even

WASHINGTON, July 13 (UPI) -- Likely Republican U.S. presidential candidate John McCain is tied with his Democratic counterpart, a Rasmussen Reports daily poll indicated.

The group's tracking poll released Saturday indicated U.S. Sen. McCain, R-Ariz., and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., each had 43 percent support. It was the first time since Obama became the likely Democratic nominee on June 3 that McCain had equaled him, the pollsters said.

"It remains to be seen whether this recent tightening of the race reflects real change or is merely statistical noise," the Rasmussen group said.

The group said its poll indicated McCain is now viewed favorably by 56 percent of voters while Obama is favored by 54 percent. Obama received unfavorable reviews from 44 percent of voters while McCain is viewed unfavorably by 41 percent.

The poll was conducted via telephone surveys of 1,000 likely voters Friday, with a margin of sampling error of 2 percentage points.