The Illinois senator held a 48 percent-to-38 percent lead over Arizona Republican senator John McCain in the Battleground Poll conducted by George Washington University, Lake Research Partners and The Tarrance Group, The Hill reported Friday.

Obama's favorability rating was 62 percent, while McCain's was 53 percent, poll results released Thursday indicate.

Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Joe Biden's favorability rating climbed to 57 percent while GOP vice presidential nominee Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was viewed favorably by 48 percent of the voters. The two were tied a week ago, the Washington publication said.

The poll also indicated that more than half of people surveyed said McCain is running a more negative campaign, while one in five said Obama's campaign is more negative.

Obama trails McCain 46 percent to 43 percent on the question of who is the stronger leader, the poll indicated.

The Battleground Poll interviewed 800 likely voters and has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.