Obama hanging on in Florida

A new poll shows Democrat Barack Obama holding his lead in the key battleground of Florida.

Obama has 49 percent to 44 percent for Republican John McCain, who badly needs to win the state, according to a poll released today by Suffolk University in Boston and 7NEWS Miami (WSVN-TV).

"Barack Obama continues to lead John McCain by a slim margin,” David Paleologos, director of the Political Research Center at Suffolk University in Boston, said in statement. "But our Florida bellwethers may be telltale signs of the race tightening."

In Hillsborough and Monroe counties, Obama and McCain were tied at 42 percent each. Suffolk University conducts "bellwether polls" in counties that historically reflect how the wider population will vote.

Statewide, Obama leads McCain 46 percent to 45 percent among those very likely to vote, but among respondents who said they have already vote, Obama was crushing McCain 60 percent to 40 percent.

"John McCain still has an opportunity to close the gap among those self-identified voters who may change their minds in the next seven days. The question is whether he will close the margin or flip the state entirely from blue to red," Paleologos said.

The survey was conducted Thursday through Sunday and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.