KANSAS CITY — A poll completed for two Missouri television stations show John McCain leading in that critical swing state by 49 to 44 percent.
The survey, conducted for KCTV-TV Kansas City and KSDK-TV St. Louis by SurveyUSA, shows McCain leading among men by 12 and Obama leading among women by 3.
Among voters older than McCain, McCain leads by 19 points. Among voters younger than Obama, the contest is tied.
McCain holds 87 percent of Republican voters; Obama holds 83% of Democrats. Independents break 5:3 for McCain.
McCain leads by 28 points in southeastern Missouri, by 23 in southwestern Missouri, and by 21 in the northern portion of the state. Obama leads by 13 in the St. Louis area. The two tie in the Kansas City area.
Missouri is considered a swing state, where Obama is mounting the largest Democratic election effort in years.
Residents of Kansas and Missouri go to the polls Friday to pick party candidates in local elections.
In Missouri, the poll show U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof is likely to win the Republican gubernatorial primary and face Democrat Jay Nixon in the fall. The poll showed Nixon is leading in that matchup, 48 to 42 percent, with 9 percent undecided.
In a local district attorney race that has drawn national interest from anti-abortion groups, Phill Kline, who is pressing to prosecute a Planned Parenthood clinic in suburban Kansas City, is trailing badly in the Johnson County, Kansas, district attorney race. The poll there showed Kline's rival, Steve Howe, leadinjg by 52 to 44 percent, with 4 percent undecided.
Kline made prosecuting abortion providers a hallmark of his tenure as Kansas attorney general. He was named to the Johnson County post after he was defeated for re-election in 2006. He's since pressed forward with abortion clinic prosecutions, pushing a case against Planned Parenthoods clinic in OVerland Park, Kansas, a Kansas City suburb.
Read more on the poll at KansasCity.com.