Obama leading in red states

A new series of polls shows Democrat Barack Obama leading in four of five key states that President Bush won in both 2000 and 2004.

In the CNN/Opinion Research Corp. surveys, Obama leads Republican John McCain in Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, and Virginia, but trails in West Virginia.

The five states have 58 electoral votes combined of the 270 needed to win the White House, and if Obama won most of them, he would likely win an electoral landslide on Nov. 4.

The state-by-state numbers:

-- In Nevada, Obama leads 51 percent to 46 percent among likely voters and 54 percent to 41 percent among registered voters.

-- In North Carolina, he leads 51 percent to 47 percent among likely voters and 51 percent to 46 percent among registered voters.

-- In Ohio, he leads 50 percent to 46 percent among likely voters and 51 percent to 45 percent among registered voters.

-- In Virginia, he leads 54 percent to 44 percent among likely voters and 54 percent to 42 percent among registered voters.

-- And in West Virginia, McCain leads 53 percent to 44 percent among likely voters and 51 percent to 44 percent among registered voters.

The surveys were conducted Sunday through Tuesday and have margins of error between 3 and 4 percentage points.