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Obama leads in poll of N.J. voters

He was ahead by 14 points. In each party, 75 percent backed their side's apparent candidate.

TRENTON - Sen. Barack Obama holds a sizable lead over Sen. John McCain in the presidential race in New Jersey, according to a poll released yesterday.

The Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey Poll found Obama (D., Ill.) leading McCain (R., Ariz.) by 50 percent to 36 percent among likely voters.

It found each presumed nominee backed by 75 percent of his own party's members and independent voters supporting Obama by 30 percent to 26 percent.

The state has 1.7 million Democratic, 1 million Republican and 2.2 million independent voters. New Jersey has not backed a Republican presidential candidate since 1988. The state has 15 electoral votes.

Forty-six percent of those surveyed said they were comfortable with Obama's religious views, but 50 percent were uncomfortable with the views of religious leaders associated with Obama.

In March, a videotape of Obama's longtime pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., created a political firestorm. On the tape, Wright criticizes the U.S. government in a sermon at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. Obama has since resigned from the church.

About 8 percent of New Jersey voters incorrectly think Obama is Muslim, the poll found.

"It appears that the one area where McCain may be able to gain traction in New Jersey is if he can make the campaign a referendum on Obama's personal judgment," said Patrick Murray, the Monmouth University Polling Institute director. "At this time, though, that appears to be a slim hope. Everything else on the electoral horizon benefits the Democrat."

Meanwhile, 66 percent of Democrats say they are more enthusiastic about voting this year than they have been in the past, compared with 39 percent of Republicans.

"We're seeing a clear enthusiasm gap between party bases," Murray said.

The poll was conducted by phone with 874 New Jersey registered voters from last Thursday through Monday and has a sampling-error margin of 3.5 percentage points.