Despite concerns about whether disappointed women voters would be cool to Barack Obama, he has significantly widened his lead over John McCain among them since Hillary Clinton’s departure from the race, according to Gallup’s analysis of tracking poll data for May 27-June 2 and June 5-9. Clinton officially withdrew about halfway through the second survey period, although her decision was largely foreshadowed earlier in the week.

Obama leads McCain 51 percent to 38 percent among women in the latest survey period compared to 48 percent to 43 percent in the earlier one. He has also closed the gap with McCain among men a bit, now trailing 47 percent to 45 percent compared to 49 percent to 43 percent. The margin of error is 2 percent. In her final full week as a candidate, Clinton had led McCain among women by 52 percent to 40 percent.