A poll conducted by Rasmussen Reports shows presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain holding a 6-point lead over Democratic opponent Barack Obama in Ohio.

The latest poll shows McCain with 46 percent of the vote, compared to 40 percent for Obama. This is up from the statistically insignificant one-point lead that the Arizona lawmaker had in previous months. The telephone survey also found that 7 percent of respondents prefer a third party candidate over McCain or Obama, and another 7 percent remain undecided.

When so-called "leaners" are included into the total, McCain leads 52 percent to 42 percent in the Buckeye State.

The survey showed McCain enjoys 88 percent support from Republicans while Obama  earns 74 percent support from Democrats. With leaners included, each candidate gets 3 more points within the party, but McCain's lead with unaffiliated goes from a nine-point advantage to a 23 point advantage with leaners included.

Obama leads 71 percent to 21 percent among white Democrats in Ohio, with leaners.

The survey showed economic issues are the most important to 49 percent of Ohio voters, while national security concerns come in at 24 percent. Obama has an eighteen point advantage among those most concerned with economic issues while McCain leads 79% to 21% among those who focus primarily on national security issues.

Sixty-four percent of respondents support offshore drilling, while 22 percent oppose. And 54 percent say that reducing the price of gas and oil is more important than the environment. Twenty-eight percent say the environment is more important.

Fifty-five percent of respondents see the U.S. and its allies as winning the war on terror, while 23 percent believe the terrorists are winning.

Approval ratings for Gov. Ted Strickland (D-Lisbon) dropped slightly with 44 percent rating his job performance good or excellent. A month ago that figure was 47 percent. Seventeen percent now say he is doing a poor job.

Rasmussen Markets data shows that Democrats are currently given a 65 percent chance of carrying Ohio this November. With release of this poll, Ohio shifts from "Leans Democrat" to "Toss-Up" in the Rasmussen Reports Balance of Power Calculator.

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