John McCain appears poised for victory in New York State’s Republican Presidential Primary. A Rasmussen Reports telephone survey shows McCain with 49% of the vote, nineteen points ahead of Mitt Romney who attracts 30%. Nobody else reaches double digits. Mike Huckabee is at 8%, Ron Paul at 4%, and 8% say they will vote for some other candidate.

Among conservatives, McCain leads Romney by just two percentage points, 42% to 40%. However, McCain leads by a 4-to-1 margin among the state’s politically moderate voters.

New York offers its 101 delegates on a winner take-all basis which means a victory for McCain would give him 8% of the delegates he needs to capture the GOP nomination. McCain also has solid leads in the neighboring winner-take-all states of New Jersey and Connecticut, Combined, the tri-state region could give McCain a total of 183 delegates out of the 1,191 needed for a majority at the convention. The Arizona Senator has already won 93 delegates in earlier contests.

Sixty-eight percent (68%) of the state’s Likely Primary Voters have a favorable opinion of McCain. That includes 39% with a Very Favorable opinion.

Sixty-seven percent (67%) have a favorable opinion of Romney, including 23% with a Very Favorable opinion.

Forty-three percent (43%) say the economy is the top voting issue while 19% believe the War in Iraq is the top priority. Immigration and National Security are each named as the top issue by 13%.

Nationally, McCain and Romney are on top in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll.

McCain leads Huckabee in Alabama and the race is very close in Missouri and Tennessee. McCain leads in the winner-take-all state of New Jersey. He also holds modest leads over Romney in California, Connecticut, and Illinois (see summary of Rasmussen Reports Super Tuesday polls).

Rasmussen Markets data gives McCain an % chance of winning the nomination while Mitt Romney is at %. Numbers in this paragraph are from a prediction market, not a poll. Using a trading format where traders "buy and sell" candidates, issues, and news features, the Rasmussen Markets harness competitive passions to provide a reliable leading indicator of upcoming events. We invite you to participate in the Rasmussen Markets. It costs nothing to join and add your voice to the collective wisdom of the market.

A summary of Rasmussen Markets data for Super Tuesday contests is available for both Republicans and Democrats.

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