A new SurveyUSA poll of 543 likely voters in Minnesota finds the race for president much closer than the findings from recent polls conducted in the state.

In the SurveyUSA poll, John McCain is in a statistical tie with Barack Obama, trailing 47 to 46 percent, with 7 percent undecided. The poll was conducted over a four-day period, June 13-16. A survey by Rasmussen, conducted on a single day (June 11), found Obama with a significant 13-point lead, 52 to 39 percent. All things being equal, surveys conducted over more than one day are generally considered to be a more reliable gauge of the political temperature of the target sample.

Obama had led McCain by double-digits in 4 of the previous 7 public opinion surveys conducted since March 19th.

The 1-point deficit in the SurveyUSA poll is the closest McCain has polled against Obama in three months, when SurveyUSA had McCain with a statistically insignificant 47 to 46 percent advantage over Obama back in mid-March. Overall, Obama has led McCain in 13 of 17 matchup polls conducted since November 2007 and in 13 of 14 polls conducted since late January 2008.

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