Just 45 percent of whites in Kentucky said they would vote for Obama in a matchup with John McCain in the general election — underscoring a challenge facing Democrats in the fall campaign.
Racial attitudes were also striking. About one in five whites in Kentucky said race played a role in choosing their candidate — on par with results in other Southern states. Nearly nine in 10 of that group backed Clinton — the highest proportion yet among the 29 states where that question has been asked.
Only 29 percent of whites in the state who said race was a factor said they would vote for Obama should he oppose McCain in November.
All that contrasted with Oregon, where a majority of voters called themselves liberal.
According to telephone interviews with the state's voters, who cast all their ballots by mail, 57 percent of whites were backing Obama. The Illinois senator and Clinton were evenly dividing working-class whites — those who have not finished college — a group that has decisively stuck with Clinton in most states this year.
In addition, only one in 10 voters in Oregon said the race of the candidates was important, one of the lowest proportions in primary states this year. They were evenly divided between the two Democrats, but heavily backed Obama when he was pitted against McCain.
As the battle for the Democratic nomination finishes its fifth month, there were signs some voters are looking beyond the contest's end.
Just over half in Kentucky said they expect Obama to win the party's nomination — including one in three Clinton backers. In Oregon, three quarters predicted Obama would be nominated, including just over half of those backing Clinton.
Like most states, Kentucky displayed the distaste each candidate's supporters had for the rival contender, underscoring a challenge the party will face in uniting its voters for the fall election.
Only a third of Clinton backers there said they would vote for Obama against McCain. Obama voters seemed more forgiving — seven in 10 said they would vote for Clinton.
Heads seemed cooler in Oregon. There, seven in 10 Clinton backers said Obama would get their vote against the Arizona Republican, while eight in 10 Obama backers said they would support Clinton against McCain.
In Kentucky, just four in 10 Clinton supporters favored picking Obama as running mate should she win the nomination. The same number of Obama backers want Clinton to run as his vice president. The question wasn't asked in Oregon.
Further illustrating the two states' differing perceptions, Clinton was seen by most as more honest than Obama and as the candidate who most shares voters' values in Kentucky. The reverse was true in Oregon.
In Kentucky, Clinton dominated Obama across virtually all categories of voters, winning strongly among men, women and whites, as well as people of virtually all ages, income and education levels. Obama took nine in 10 blacks.
In Oregon, the only groups Clinton controlled were people over age 65 and those earning less than $30,000 a year — voters who have been loyal to her almost all year.
--AP staff writer Alan Fram
5/21/2008
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