国际英语新闻：Poll: Obama rapidly picks up more women voters' support

WASHINGTON, June 11 (Xinhua) -- U.S. presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama picked up more support from women voters soon after his decisive win in the presidential nomination race, according to a poll released on Wednesday.

    The Gallup poll conducted from June 5 to 9 showed that the Illinois Senator was supported by 51 percent of women voters, compared to 38 percent for his Republican rival, Arizona Senator John McCain.

Presumptive U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) greets supporters on stage during a campaign rally in Bristow, Virginia June 5, 2008. Obama picked up more support from women voters soon after his decisive win in the presidential nomination race, according to a poll released on Wednesday.

Another poll conducted a week earlier showed Obama's lead over McCain in women voters' support by only 5 percentages.

    The Gallup said that many older and married women voters shifted their support from Obama's former rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton, to him was a reason to explain his surge.

    The matchup of McCain and Obama in winning the support from married women voters was used to be 52-40, but now changed to 45-45, according to the polling body.

U.S. Republican presidential candidate and Senator John McCain gives a thumbs up to supporters before he gave a foreign policy speech in Denver, Colorado May 27, 2008.

It said that female voters had to take a second thought over Obama since their candidate, Clinton, was not in the race any more.

    "Indeed, his current 13-point advantage over McCain is essentially the same advantage that Clinton held over McCain throughout her active candidacy."

    Obama also saw his popularity growing among male voters.

    In a newest Gallup poll, McCain's lead over Obama in male votes by 47 to 45 percent, compared to 49 to 43 percent in an earlier poll.