Echoing similar results reported yesterday in Wisconsin, Barack Obama currently has a strong advantage when matched up against John McCain in the Upper Midwestern states of Iowa and Minnesota, especially when compared to Hillary Clinton, according to polls released today by Rasmussen and SurveyUSA.

In Minnesota, a Rasmussen poll of 500 likely voters conducted on February 16th found McCain leading Clinton by 5 points, 47 to 42 percent, while Obama led McCain by a whopping 15 points, 53 to 38 percent (a 20 point difference on the Democratic side). Clinton suffers from a much lower favorability rating (51 percent) than the Democratic (64 percent) and Republican (62 percent) frontrunners.

In Iowa, a SurveyUSA poll of 563 registered voters conducted February 15-17 tells a similar story: McCain leads Clinton by 11 points, 52 to 41 percent, while Obama leads McCain by 10 points, 51 to 41 percent (a 21 point difference on the Democratic side).

In Wisconsin, a SurveyUSA poll of registered voters showed a 17-point difference on the Democratic side, to Obama's advantage.