Democrat Barack Obama has widened his lead over Republican John McCain in Iowa according to the latest Des Moines Register Iowa Poll.

Obama, an Illinois senator, was the choice of 54 percent of likely voters, while McCain, an Arizona senator, was the choice of 37 percent.

The poll of 814 likely voters, taken Tuesday through Friday by Selzer & Co., came at the close of a key stretch of the fall campaign. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.

The poll also found that six in 10 Obama supporters said they were 100 percent confident he is the best person for the job, compared to only half of McCain supporters.

Four years ago, three-quarters of President George W. Bush’s supporters expressed total confidence in the Republican, compared with about 60 percent for Democrat John Kerry. Bush narrowly carried Iowa during his re-election campaign.

In a poll released Oct. 31, 2004, The Register’s found Kerry and Bush virtually tied. Bush was eventually victorious by only 10,000 votes.