Poll: McCain, Obama in dead heat for Colo. votes

DENVER - According to a poll released on the eve of the Democratic National Convention, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) are in a dead heat for Colorado's nine electoral votes.

The poll was conducted by Quinnipiac University and questioned 1,060 "likely voters" from Colorado between August 15 and 21. However, the pollsters did not provide an exact definition for how "likely voters" were determined, or which part of the state those surveyed call home.

The results of the poll revealed the Colorado vote is in a dead heat with McCain garnering 47 percent of the vote to Obama's 46 percent. There is a margin of error of +/- 3 percent.

A similar poll released a month earlier, on July 24, by Quinnipiac showed McCain with 46 percent of the vote to Obama's 44 percent. On June 26, the same polling group released a survey that showed Obama leading with 49 percent to McCain's 44 percent.

According to further poll data, McCain was viewed favorably by Colorado's "likely voters" 53 to 34 percent, while Obama was viewed favorably 48 to 39 percent.

The survey also showed that Colorado's "likely voters" trust Obama more than McCain when it came to his ability to handle the energy crisis (49 to 42 percent), his ability to handle the economy (47 to 43 percent) and his ability to handle a natural disaster (48 to 41 percent).

However, the poll also showed Colorado's "likely voters" trust McCain over Obama in his ability to handle Russia (51 to 37 percent), his ability to handle a terrorist incident in the U.S. (57 to 35 percent) and his ability to handle a conflict between Iran and Israel (56 to 36 percent).

For the complete results of this poll, click here.