McCain slightly ahead of Obama in Fla.

MIAMI, Sept. 20 (UPI) -- Republican presidential nominee John McCain holds a slim lead over Democrat Barack Obama in Florida, a poll released Saturday indicates.

The poll was conducted Sunday through Tuesday as turmoil on Wall Street hit the headlines, The Miami Herald reported. It was done by Democratic pollster Tom Eldon and Republican pollster Kellyanne Conway and paid for by the Herald, St. Petersburg Times and Bay News 9.

A total of 43 percent of those surveyed said the economy should be at the top of the next president's to-do list. Only 14 percent said that the war in Iraq was the most important and 12 percent listed terrorism.

''Obama is in a position to improve his poll numbers, given the confidence in his handling of the economy,'' Eldon said.

Eldon and Conway surveyed 800 likely voters.

The survey found that 55 percent of white voters support McCain and 38 percent Obama. More than 90 percent of black voters plan to vote for Obama, while 2 percent plan to vote for McCain.

Obama has been running ahead of McCain among Hispanics elsewhere. In Florida, where many Hispanics are Cuban-American, 51 percent support McCain to 41 percent for Obama.