Poll: 7-in-10 say Obama will win

PRINCETON, N.J., Oct. 28 (UPI) -- Seven in 10 Americans say they believe Democrat Barack Obama will win the U.S. presidential election, results of a Gallup poll released Tuesday indicate.

By a 71 percent-to-23 percent tally, participants said they expected Obama, a U.S. senator from Illinois, will be elected president, including a 49 percent-to-46 percent edge indicated among supporters for Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the Princeton, N.J., polling agency reported.

The Gallup Poll data suggest McCain's supporters aren't of the mind of their candidate that he can pull off a win, pollsters said.

What this expectation outlook may mean on Tuesday is unclear, Gallup said. Some observers could argue that Obama could be hurt if supporters become complacent while others could make the case that McCain could be harmed by voters who "give up" if they don't think their candidate will win.

Results are based on telephone interviews Thursday through Sunday with 1,010 adults, aged 18 and older. The margin of error is 3 percentage points.