Democrat Barack Obama holds a small lead over John McCain in the race for Michigan's 17 electoral votes, but McCain holds a significant lead over Hillary Clinton in a new poll released Monday.

Obama, the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, leads McCain 43 percent to 41 percent, according to the survey by Lansing polling firm EPIC-MRA. Obama's lead is well within the poll's error margin of 4 percentage points, however. McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, holds a 46-37 edge over Clinton.

But in a sign that Democrats still hold an edge in Michigan, when poll participants were first asked if they would vote for a Democrat or a Republican for president, without being read the names of any candidates, 43 percent said they were likely to vote for the Democratic nominee, while just 31 percent said they would probably vote for a Republican. McCain is seeking to be the first GOP presidential candidate to carry Michigan since the elder President Bush in 1988.

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McCain also gets more favorable reviews from voters than either of his possible Democratic opponents. Fifty-nine percent said they had a favorable opinion of McCain, compared to 55 percent for Obama and 45 percent for Clinton.

There are also signs of an unsettled electorate. Clinton won Michigan's Jan. 15 primary, but was the only major candidate on the ballot. Now, 42 percent of Michiganians in the survey said they would prefer that Obama win the Democratic nomination, to 37 percent for Clinton; 21 percent are undecided. And 51 percent of those surveyed said they were at least somewhat likely to change their mind on a presidential candidate between now and November.

Obama voluntarily took his name off the Jan. 15 ballot because Michigan violated national party rules in scheduling an early primary.

You can reach Gordon Trowbridge at (202) 662-8738 or gtrowbridge@detnews.com