Primary polls: Key states tightening, including for Republicans

Yesterday afternoon alone, poll numbers from New York, California, Connecticut and Massachusetts showed Obama tightening the race in all these states. With three more polls this morning, we are starting to get a better idea of where things are heading on Tuesday:

• Rasmussen released a poll from California that has Clinton down to a 3% lead, stunning progress on Obama's part. Clinton is up 43% to 40%, with Edwards still getting 9%, way more than the margin between the two front-runners.
• Confirming that (1) Clinton could get the nomination on the strength of her Latino support and that (2) the polarization of the white vote only applies to the South, Clinton leads by 27% among Hispanics and trails by 3% among whites.


• Among Republicans, the California race looks tighter than expected, with McCain leading 32% to 28%.

The survey was taken in the hours following McCain's Florida win and before Giuliani's withdrawal (he gets 14%), so McCain should still get a bounce out of those events. But since the conventional wisdom holds that McCain will just blow Romney out of the water at this point, this has got to be heartwarming for Romney supporters. Also comforting is a new poll from Illinois, also from Rasmussen:

• McCain is up 34% to Romney's 26%, confirming that Romney is holding his own. But the survey was taken mostly prior to McCain's Florida win, so it's going to be very difficult for Romney to climb those 8%.

And with that we get a series of polls from Southern states that are voting in 5 days, confirming that Tennessee and Georgia aren't that suspensful on the Democratic side but will be key battlegrounds for Republicans:

• In Tennessee, Insider Advantager has McCain leading 33% to 25% for Huckabee at 18% for Mitt Romney.
• Among Democrats, Clinton has a massive 59% to 26% lead. Edwards was not included in the poll. This follows a poll released earlier this week that gives Clinton a clear lead as well.


• In Georgia, Insider Advantage shows Obama ahead 52% to 36%. John Edwards was not included here either.
• John McCain is winning this Southern state as well, 35% to 24% for Huckabee and Romney.


• PPP also has a Georgia survey out, and it confirms Obama's lead. In a survey taken after Edwards's withdrawal, Obama is ahead 51% to 41%. He wins 73% of the black vote, but trails 56% to 36% among whites.
• Among Republiacns, PPP contradicts Insider Advantage showing Romney at 32% with McCain at 31% and Huckabee at 24%.

Update: Gallup's latest national tracking poll numbers are out, and they show Obama continuing to gain ground. He is now trailing 43% to 39%, a stunning come back as Barack trailed by double-digits just three days ago. Edwards is now at 8% -- down from 12%, and Gallup does say that his support does not seem to be going to one candidate overwhelmingly. Giuliani's support is massively benefit McCain, on the other hand, who is now ahead 37% to 22% for Romney (it was 32% to 21% yesterday).