SurveyUSA’s latest poll of likely voters in the Gopher State finds John McCain reaching his second highest level of support in more than a dozen polls conducted since late March 2008. McCain’s two-point deficit, 47 to 45 percent, is just one point shy of his previous peak, when he trailed 47 to 46 percent in SurveyUSA’s June 2008 poll.

Out of the nearly two-dozen matchup polls conducted in Minnesota between McCain and Barack Obama, McCain has consistently performed the best in those conducted by SurveyUSA. In fact, SurveyUSA is the only non-partisan polling organization to date that has found McCain ahead of Obama in Minnesota (in 4 polls: November 2007, December 2007, January 2008, and March 2008).

The new survey, with field dates of August 13-14, is reflective of other recent surveys, showing the race for President quite tight in the Gopher State: Ramussen’s August 13th poll found Obama up 46 to 42 percent and Quinnipiac’s July 14-22 poll found McCain trailing 46 to 44 percent.