Polls Show Presidential Race Tightening in New Jersey

Polls this month reveal a tightening presidential race in New Jersey, a state many assumed would fall easily into Barack Obama’s column come November.

Obama leads John McCain there by three percentage points, Marist College and Quinnipiac University report in polls taken during the first and second weeks of September, respectively. Major polls showed Obama leading there by 10 percentage points at the beginning of August.

Other polls show Obama performing better in New Jersey–a recent Research 2000 survey, for instance, shows him up by nine percentage points–but RealClearPolitics’ average of recent major polls reports the Illinois Democrat as leading by 5.3 percentage points, his lowest advantage in RealClearPolitics’ average since Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) suspended her primary campaign in June.

New Jersey has voted overwhelmingly Democratic in recent presidential elections. Its 15 electoral votes place it on par with North Carolina and Georgia in terms of election-night value.