Obama holds 10 point lead over McCain in Maryland

Poll Suggest Voters Suspicious of Media Bias

A new Rasmussen Reports poll has Democratic nominee Barack Obama leading his Republican counterpart John McCain by a solid 10 point margin.

53 percent of voters are firm in their vote for Obama, while 41 percent say they'll definitely cast their ballots for McCain. With those "leaning" towards one candidate or the other, McCain gains an additional 2 percent and Obama gains none.

The 2000 and 2004 Democratic nominees, Al Gore and John Kerry, carried the state by an average of 15 points over Republican President George W. Bush.

The survey of 500 likely voters was conducted on Monday, Aug. 18, and has a +/- 4.5 percent margin of error and a 95 percent confidence interval.

Overall, both candidates are more liked in the state. 61 percent give Obama a favorable rating, while 39 percent find him unfavorable. 56 percent find McCain favorable, while 43 percent rate him unfavorably.

And while 32 percent believe most reporters will try to offer unbiased coverage of the campaign, many more voters think the media will try to help Obama over McCain, 45 percent to 11 percent -- a margin of 34 points.