Democrat Barack Obama has extended his lead slightly to 15 percentage points over Republican John McCain in Iowa, according to a new Quad-City Times-Lee Enterprises poll.

Obama leads McCain 54 percent to 39 percent in the poll, with 3 percent saying they support another candidate and 4 percent undecided.

Obama’s lead grew one point over a poll sponsored by Lee Enterprises last month. Obama continued to lead among independent voters 57 percent to 36 percent, as well as with both men and women and every age group.

“I think Obama’s going to carry Iowa comfortably,” said pollster Del Ali, whose firm Research 2000 conducted the survey.

The poll of 600 likely voters who vote regularly in state elections was conducted from Oct. 19-22. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

A majority of respondents to the recent survey, or 54 percent, said they trusted Obama more to handle the economy compared to 34 percent who said they trusted McCain more.

Iowa voters also said they trusted Obama’s pledge to cut taxes more than McCain’s, with 47 percent trusting Obama and 40 percent trusting McCain.          

Ali found it striking that a Democrat would score higher than a Republican on whom voters trusted to cut taxes.

“I’ve never seen it in polling. Not even (Democrat Bill) Clinton when Clinton was popular and winning big,” Ali said.

Brad Anderson, a spokesman for Obama’s Iowa campaign, said they are seeing momentum after Gen. Colin Powell’s endorsement of Obama but aren’t taking a single vote for granted.

“We are working very hard to remind our supporters that if they want to change Washington and turn our economy around, they need to vote early and call their relatives, friends and neighbors to do the same,” Anderson said in a statement.

McCain’s campaign has pumped up its efforts in Iowa, with both McCain and running mate Sarah Palin campaigning in the state this weekend.

McCain’s Iowa chairman, David Roederer, said they consider the race close.

“What we are seeing is that a lot of the electorate that are expressing some favor towards our opponents are still very open to being persuaded,” Roederer said.

One of the campaign issues relevant to Iowa’s agricultural economy — ethanol subsidies — appeared to have little significance with voters. McCain has been a vocal opponent of the subsidies and has even called for the lifting of the tariff for imported ethanol that would compete with Iowa’s home-grown ethanol.

Only 29 percent of voters polled said they would be less likely to vote for McCain because of that position and 54 percent said it had no effect on their vote. Only 38 percent of voters ranked the candidates’ positions on ethanol as important or very important in making their decision.

Poll respondent Kenneth Block, a retired optometrist from Northwood, has already voted for Obama. He was an early Obama backer, drawn to the U.S. senator from Illinois because of his stance against the war in Iraq.

“I see him as an inspiration; I see him as a man with integrity, although there would be those who would try to dispute that at this time,” Block said.

Block supported Obama in the Iowa caucuses and hasn’t been swayed by attempts in recent weeks to closely link Obama to 1960s radical William Ayers, which Block thinks is unfounded.

“This guilt by association that they’ve implied has been beyond reality,” Block said.

The 80-year-old Block is a former Republican but said he now sees “a lot of greed on the Republican side.”

Craig Larsen, a Republican from Red Oak, is behind McCain, a U.S. senator from Arizona. Larsen, a part-time pastor and car salesman, supports the Republican nominee’s policies and says the country should provide tax cuts for businesses and people who have money to invest.

“When we lower taxes to them, I’m a firm believer that we’re putting money into our economy, not into Washington where it gets lost in a deep, dark hole of forgetfulness,” Larsen said. 

In the Lee Enterprises poll, McCain saw his unfavorable rating rise slightly from the month before from 47 percent to 49 percent, while his favorable rating dropped from 47 percent to 45 percent.

Obama saw both his favorable and unfavorable ratings rise by 1 percentage point during the time period. In the latest poll, voters gave Obama a favorable rating of 59 percent and an unfavorable rating of 32 percent.

Last month’s poll had Obama ahead by 14 percentage points. That poll was conducted before Congress’ approval of a $700 billion financial rescue package.

It also occurred before the candidates squared off in a series of three televised debates.

Even after those debates, Elizabeth Beck of Bettendorf remains one of the few undecided voters but said she is determined to vote.

The 71-year-old retired real estate broker had initially thought she would support Obama but has reconsidered after learning of his connections to Ayers and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama’s former pastor.

“Some of his ties are questionable in my mind. It just kind of bothers me, really a lot,” Beck said.

She’s leaning toward voting for McCain but also has questions about his health and history of skin cancer.

“He’s had a big, heavy bout with that,” Beck said.

(Fred Love contributed to this report.)

Charlotte Eby can be reached at (515) 243-0138 or chareby@aol.com.