And the gap widens

Poll Update: McCain faces wide gap
Posted: 03:02 PM ET

From CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney


McCain is down 8 points in CNN's latest poll of polls.
(CNN) — As John McCain and Sarah Palin scramble to defend states President Bush easily carried four years ago, a new CNN poll of polls Monday shows Barack Obama with an 8-point lead over the Arizona senator nationwide.

The new poll of polls, comprised of six recently released surveys, ties the largest lead Obama has held over McCain this election cycle, and suggests the Republican presidential hopeful faces an increasingly difficult task to turn around voter sentiment by Election Day.

According to the new poll of polls, Obama leads McCain 50-42 percent with 8 percent still undecided. That number incorporates new polls from ABC/Washington Post, Fox News/Opinion Dynamics, Newsweek, Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby, Gallup, and Diageo/Hotline.

Campaigning in Virginia earlier Monday, McCain acknowledged his deficit in the polls, and said the national media has all but declared the race over.

"We have 22 days to go. We're 6 points down," he said. "The national media has written us off…. But they forgot to let you decide. My friends, we've got them just where we want them."

Meanwhile, a new CNN poll of polls out of the state of Nevada shows Obama holding on to his advantage in a state that narrowly voted for Bush in 2004. The latest poll of polls shows Obama with a 4 point lead there, 49 to 45 percent. That compares to a 3 point lead Obama held in Nevada last week. CNN considers Nevada a tossup state in its electoral map.