Gallup: Obama 50, McCain 43

PRINCETON, N.J., Oct. 12 (UPI) -- Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama leads Republican John McCain by seven points among registered U.S. voters in a Gallup Poll released Sunday.

The Gallup Poll Daily tracking report found 50 percent of registered voters surveyed said they supported Obama, while 43 percent back McCain. The results, based on polling conducted Oct. 9-11, show a narrowing of Obama's lead over McCain.

Obama held a double-digit lead for three straight days last week, but the gap has been closing steadily the past three days, suggesting the race is tightening, Gallup said.

Gallup also released two likely voter surveys based on Oct. 9-11 tracking -- one based on traditional methods of measuring likely voter sentiment and one that takes into account such factors as more widespread cell phone use and a massive number of first-time voters who would not be measured under the traditional method.

Likely voters as measured in the traditional method preferred Obama over McCain 50-46, while the second likely voter model showed Obama with a lead of 51 percent to 45 percent, Gallup said.

The Gallup Poll Daily tracking survey for Oct. 9-11 was based on interviews with 2,783 registered voters. The likely voter surveys were based on interviews with just over 2,000 likely voters.

All three have a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points