Senator Barack Obama continued to widen his lead in some key battleground states, according to new polling data just released. Obama appears to have put the race away in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, and is close to doing so in Colorado. The states have a tendency to be Democratic, but McCain had hoped to be able to put Minnesota and Wisconsin in play. Instead the pressure builds on McCain as Obama continues to put traditional Republican strongholds in play while holding solid in areas considered to be must win. From Chris Cilizza at the Washington Post:

Obama holds double-digit margins over McCain in Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin and carries a nine-point advantage over his Republican rival in Colorado, according to polling conducted by Quinnipiac University for washingtonpost.com and the Wall Street Journal.

Obama’s ascendancy in these key states mirrors his growing lead in national polling. The latest Washington Post/ABC News survey put Obama at 53 percent to McCain’s 43 percent, while the daily Gallup tracking poll showed Obama holding a similar lead of 51 percent to 41 percent on Monday.

The data shows why McCain pulled out of Michigan, and how the economy has hurt his candidacy badly.

Obama’s 54 percent to 38 percent lead in Michigan helps to explain why McCain decided to pull down his ads and pull out the majority of his campaign staff from the Wolverine State last week — choosing to fight, instead, in Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Maine.

The data was similar in Wisconsin and Minnesota where Obama gained 10 points and nine points, respectively, in his margin over McCain since the September Quinnipiac poll; the Illinois senator led McCain in Wisconsin 54 percent to 37 percent, and held a 51 percent to 40 percent edge in Minnesota.

In both states, 58 percent of the sample cited the economy as the leading issue affecting their vote — nearly six times as many as named any other issue. The Wisconsin number represents a significant shift from the seven-point advantage the Quinnipiac poll showed for Obama in the Badger State in the third week of September. It also stands in contrast to other recent poll data, including a CNN/Time poll done earlier this month, that showed Obama leading 51 percent to 46 percent.

Most polling data are showing the same result, with the recently released Washington Post/ABC poll showing Obama cementing a national lead by impressive numbers. Is it to late for McCain? I think it is, and with the financial muscle Obama is bringing to bear on this race any chance that McCain might have will be obliterated under a fusillade of campaign dollars. Read the Cilizza story here.