Senator Kerry now leads President Bush in the Rasmussen Reports Presidential Tracking Poll, 49% to 45%. Today's results reflect a five-point net gain for the Democrats since John Edwards was named as Kerry's running mate. In our last survey before the announcement, President Bush had a one-point edge, 47% to 46%.
Today is the first time since Kerry wrapped up the nomination that either candidate topped the 48% mark in our daily Tracking Poll. Prior to today, both candidates had stayed within three points of the 45% mark on every single night of polling for more than 120 days.
OK, 4 points is not a huge lead, and the margin of error on this poll is +/- 3%. But I've been following Rasmussen's numbers for months and I don't recall ever seeing any distance between the two candidates. They also have Kerry leading Bush 247-203 in the elctoral college.
Thanks to Akshay R. Rao for the heads-up.