Numbers Steady in Pennsylvania; Democratic Race Turns on Obama ‘Bitter’ Comment
Hillary Clinton continues to hold the line as the front-runner in Pennsylvania, with Barack Obama six points back one week before the April 22 Democratic primary vote.
Clinton had 50 percent to Obama’s 44 percent, according to the Quinnipiac University poll out Tuesday. The numbers remain unchanged from one week earlier, before the uproar over Obama’s remark that people in small towns like those in Pennsylvania cling to guns and religion to vent their frustration over the economy and Washington’s false promises.
The poll was taken April 9-13. Obama’s remarks from the April 6 San Francisco fundraiser were first reported on April 11.
According to the poll, support for Obama among the state’s black voters surged to 86 percent, compared with 75 percent a week ago, while Clinton maintained her advantage among whites, 57 percent to Obama’s 37 percent. Twenty-six percent of Clinton supporters said they would vote for presumptive Republican nominee John McCain in November if Obama is the Democratic nominee, while 19 percent of Obama’s backers said they would support McCain if Clinton is the nominee.
The poll of 2,103 likely Democratic voters in Pennsylvania had a margin of error of 2.1 percent.
While Obama’s remarks have dominated the news for three days, several Democratic officials are trying to put the issue behind them. Freshman Sen. Bob Casey, an Obama supporter, praises Obama in a new ad, calling him an agent of change and saying he believes in him.gov. Ed Rendell, a Clinton supporter, reportedly said Monday night that the remarks could cost Obama one or two points in the Keystone State primary, but will be long forgotten by November.
Scott Rasmussen, head of Rasmussen Reports, said his firm’s recent polling numbers also show a race much unchanged, though 56 percent of voters said they disagree with Obama’s comments. His daily tracking poll out Tuesday showed Clinton with 50 percent, Obama with 41 percent in Pennsylvania.[…]
Please read it all.