(angus reid) - Democrat Barack Obama holds the upper hand in Michigan, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports. 47 per cent of respondents in the Great Lake State would back the Illinois senator in this year’s United States presidential election, while 39 per cent would vote for Republican Arizona senator John McCain. In a separate contest, McCain is tied with Democratic New York senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.

In 2004, Democrat John Kerry won Michigan’s 17 electoral votes, with 51 per cent of the vote. The last Republican to carry the Great Lake State in a U.S. presidential election was George H. Bush in 1988. Read More