Poll gives Obama 7-percentage-point edge

DETROIT, Aug. 22 (UPI) -- Independents, women and Detroit voters helped give Barack Obama a 7-percentage-point edge over John McCain in Michigan, a poll released Friday indicated.

A 46-percent-to-39-percent statewide advantage for Obama, the apparent Democratic presidential nominee, got its decisive boost from the 39-percent bulge among voters in Wayne County, including Detroit.

Elsewhere in metro Detroit and outstate, Obama and McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, are virtually tied, the Detroit Free Press-Local 4 Michigan poll indicates.

In the survey of 600 likely voters, 12 percent said they were undecided and 3 percent supported third-party candidates.

Obama had significantly more support among voters younger than 35 and an 11-percentage-point lead among women statewide. Among men, he and McCain were in a dead heat.

Obama had a 17-percentage-point edge among independent voters.

The poll was conducted Sunday-Wednesday and has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.