Poll: Obama leads McCain in Ohio

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Barack Obama holds a 51 percent-to-45 percent edge over his Republican opponent in the key state of Ohio, a poll indicates.

The Washington Post-ABC News poll, released Tuesday, also shows Obama, a U.S. senator from Illinois, with a big lead over GOP nominee Sen. John McCain of Arizona on the issue of the faltering U.S. economy. Among such "economy voters," Obama led McCain by 62 percent to 34 percent, The Washington Post reported.

Pollsters said the results indicated that Ohio's voters, who have suffered from a poor economy and are taking new lumps from the turmoil in the financial, credit and housing markets, believe Obama is stronger on handling the economy, creating jobs and defining tax policy.

No Republican has own the U.S. presidency without winning Ohio. Strategists say its 20 electoral votes are crucial for McCain. The Post noted that if McCain won every other state that U.S. President George Bush carried in 2004 but lost Ohio, he would end up four electoral votes short of the 270 needed to for victory.

The poll was conducted Oct. 3-5 among 1,010 Ohio adults. The margin of error was 3 percentage points.