Poll: White House race deadlocked

WASHINGTON, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- The race for the White House is virtually a dead heat between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain, a Washington Post/ABC News poll indicates.

Among registered voters, 47 percent of respondents said they favored Obama and 46 percent favored McCain, Washington Post/ABC poll results released Tuesday indicated.

Among respondents who are most likely to vote in November, 49 percent said they would vote for McCain, 47 percent for Obama.

Both candidates solidified support during their respective party conventions, but the Arizona Republican entered the campaign's final two months with momentum, the poll indicated. Obama, the U.S. senator from Illinois has about 85 percent of Democrats backing him while 88 percent of Republicans back McCain, the poll indicated.

Pollsters found much of the shift toward McCain is from white women, a demographic McCain's team hoped to reach with the pick of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. White women shifted from an

8-point preconvention edge for Obama to a 12-point McCain advantage now.

The poll was conducted by telephone between Friday and Sunday among a national sample of 1,133 adults, including 961 registered voters. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.