Race neither plus nor minus, poll says

PRINCETON, N.J., Oct. 9 (UPI) -- Race may not be as big an issue in the U.S. presidential battle between Barack Obama and John McCain as once thought, a Gallup Poll released Thursday indicates.

Six percent of poll respondents said they were less likely to vote for Obama, the Democratic Party candidate for president, because of his race but 9 percent said they were more likely to vote for him, results indicated.

Similarly, 6 percent said they were less likely to vote for McCain, the Republican candidate, while 7 percent said they were more likely to vote for him.

Eighty-five percent of those asked say Obama's race wasn't a factor and 87 percent say McCain's race makes no difference, the Princeton, N.J., polling agency said of the respondents' self-reported attitudes.

Gallup said enough voters, particularly non-whites, say they are more likely to vote for Obama because of his race offset the percentage who say they are less likely to vote for him because of his race. For McCain, the impact of non-whites saying his race is a negative is countered by those who say it is a positive.

Results are based on telephone interviews Friday-Sunday with 926 registered voters. The margin of error is 4 percentage points.