HELENA – A new poll shows Republican John McCain holds a solid lead in Montana over rival Barack Obama, and indicates Ron Paul could be a factor in the state.
The CNN/Time Opinion Research poll shows McCain leading Obama among likely voters by 11 points — 54 percent to 43 percent — in a heads-up battle. The poll of 1,007 respondents has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.
But if third-party candidates are included in the question, McCain’s lead slips.
Likely voters pick McCain over Obama by 9 percent in that case — 49 percent to 40 percent. Paul draws 7 percent.
The Constitution Party of Montana recently placed Paul on the ballot even though Paul lost a bid for the GOP nomination.