(WHAS11) - If it wasn’t a battleground state before but it is now! According to recent polls, Senator Barack Obama has taken the lead in the Hoosier State.

Both sides of the political aisle are spending quite a bit of time in Indiana. Senator Obama stumped in Indianapolis Thursday, and Governor Sarah Palin will be in Fort Wayne on Saturday.

A democratic presidential candidate hasn’t won Indiana since Lyndon Johnson did it in 1964. And if John McCain loses the reliably republican Hoosier state, it would be a sign that he’s unlikely to win the presidency.

Barack Obama has spent far more time in the Hoosier state than John McCain because it was up for grabs in the democratic primary race as well.

Now, all of that time spent in Indiana is paying off for Obama. The new WHAS11/Survey USA poll shows Obama leading McCain 49% to 45% in Indiana.

The new poll shows McCain leading by 5% among likely voters 65 and older. But Obama is leading by a wide margin, 54% to 39% among young voters age 18 to 34.

One interesting note from the campaign trail in Indiana; native son John Mellencamp has written a song especially for Obama and has asked the McCain campaign to quit playing Mellencamp’s songs at his rallies. No word on whether the McCain folks will oblige and quit playing tunes from the rocker.