Tracking poll: Presidential race remains tight

By CNN Polling Director Keating Holland

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The presidential race continues to be close, with just 13 days remaining in the fall campaign. If the election were held today, 48 percent of likely voters would choose Republican Texas Governor George W. Bush and 43 percent would pick Democratic Vice President Al Gore, according to Wednesday's CNN/USA Today/Gallup tracking poll. The survey of 735 likely voters was conducted October 22-24 and has a 4-point margin of error.

Wednesday's results reflect a three-point change from Tuesday, when Gore posted 46 percent and Bush came in with 45 percent of support from likely voters. That's not a big change, and indeed fairly typical for a tracking poll -- there frequently were such swings in the 1996 tracking poll, for example -- but because this race is so tight, small changes are magnified as the lead continues to change hands.

Is Bush's current advantage due to actual changes in the electorate or the statistical fluctuations to which tracking polls are subject? We won't know until additional interviews over the next few nights confirm where Bush and Gore stand.

CNN will be releasing the results of its tracking polls every day until the November 7 elections. The polls monitor public opinion of the presidential race over intervals of two to three days.

CNN/USA TODAY/GALLUP POLL

October 22-24

Likely Voters' Choice for President

COMPLETE TRACKING TREND ON HORSE RACE