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WASHINGTON - DEMOCRATIC presidential candidate Barack Obama holds leads in several key states that voted Republican in 2004, suggests a CNN poll released on Wednesday.
Mr Obama leads his Republican rival John McCain in Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia - all states that backed outgoing President George W. Bush in the last election.
Those four states contribute a total of 53 votes to the electoral college that ultimately decides who will be the next president of the United States.
The winning candidate needs at least 270 electoral votes to take office.
Mr McCain has widened his lead to seven to 12 points in West Virginia, a traditionally Republican state won by President George W. Bush by 13 points in 2004, according to the poll for the all-news television channel.
Mr Obama is five to 13 points ahead of Mr McCain in Nevada, four to seven points clear in North Carolina and Ohio, and seven to 12 points ahead in Virginia, according to CNN's survey of voters registered or likely to vote.
Daily tracking polls have all been favouring Mr Obama, while a survey released Wednesday by Fox News give Mr Obama a nine-point advantage at 49 per cent.
Another by the Wall Street Journal and NBC News put Mr Obama at 52 per cent, against 42 per cent for Mr McCain.
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