New polls this morning from Suffolk in Ohio, Public Strategies in Texas (PDF), and Zogby in both states. Looking only at the seven Texas polls conducted since Wednesday, here is the current average in Texas:
Texas, 2/27-3/2, seven polls
Obama: 46.6%
Clinton: 45.7%
That is a real nailbiter. I think Obama will pull it out, because there are more indications that early voting favors him than Clinton, and because he tends to outperform polling more often than Clinton. However, both candidates still clearly have a shot to win the primary portion of the Texas nominating contest, which could be the difference to Clinton staying in the campaign after Tuesday, and Obama becoming the presumptive nominee.
Ohio tells a different story, one where Clinton is favored:
Ohio, 2/26-3/2, six nine polls
Clinton: 49.4%
Obama: 42.7%
Obama made up a lot of ground in Ohio, but it does not appear to be enough. With significant early voting underway, it would be a real shock if he won here. Zogby shows him moving ahead in the state--the first poll to do so--but Suffolk still shows Clinton up by 12%. My feeling is that both polls are wrong, and the truth lies in between. I expect Clinton to win Ohio by 3-5%, which puts a lot of pressure on Texas to decide whether the nomination campaign moves forward or not.
For more polls, always check out Pollster.com.
Update: A wave of new Ohio polls was just released, all showing Clinton ahead:
Survey USA: Clinton 54%--44% Obama
PPP: Clinton 51%--42% Obama
Rasmussen: Clinton 50%--44% Obama
Q-poll: Clinton 49%--45% Obama
Clinton appears to have Ohio in hand. The new, nine-poll average in the state shows her ahead Clinton 49.4%--42.7% Obama. Also, one new poll from Texas:
Rasmussen: Obama 48%--47% Clinton
The new average in Texas shows Obama 46.6%--45.7% Clinton. There has been favorable movement for Clinton in a few recent polls there, giving her a chance to win the primary portion of the vote. I also suspect that she should do better in the caucus than she did in any February caucus state, with the exception of New Mexico.
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