McCain Losing Ground With Older Voters

Sept. 27 (Bloomberg) -- John McCain is losing ground with older Americans, a group that consistently has high turnout at the voting booth.

Barack Obama jumped to a 46-42 percent lead among those 65 and older in the latest Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll. That's an 18 percentage-point swing since mid-August, when the poll showed McCain with a 50-36 percent advantage.

People 65 and older are among Americans most concerned about financial upheaval, according to the poll, taken Sept 19-22. Only 11 percent say they're better off than they were four years ago, compared with 24 percent of all respondents; 8 percent of the older Americans say the country is moving in the right direction, compared with 13 percent overall.

Obama also has the advantage with younger voters. The Illinois senator leads 52-41 percent among Americans between 18 and 44 years old. Those in the middle, ages 45-64, are going for McCain 47 percent to 42 percent.

While McCain gets a majority of Protestants, 51 percent to 41 percent, Obama wins Catholics 47 percent to 35 percent for McCain.