Obama leads in South Carolina

Editor: Alan Gray, NewsBlaze

Obama leads in South Carolina; McCain up in Florida 31% to 28% over Romney in Florida

COLUMBIA, South Carolina - Barack Obama expanded his lead on rival Hillary Clinton to 15 points heading into South Carolina's bitterly contested presidential primary, according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll released on Saturday.

Obama, an Illinois senator, gained two points on Clinton overnight to lead 41 percent to 26 percent just hours before voting began in Saturday's primary. John Edwards was in third place after slipping two points to 19 percent.

Obama has led Clinton by double-digits in all four days of polls in South Carolina, fueled by a huge advantage among the black voters who are expected to make up about half of the electorate in the first Democratic primary in the South.

Obama, who would be the first black U.S. president, was favored by 62 percent of black voters, with Clinton at 18 percent and Edwards at 5 percent.

Edwards, a former North Carolina senator who won the state during his failed 2004 White House run, and Clinton, a New York senator, were tied among white voters at 35 percent each. Obama was at 19 percent.

"Obama holds solid leads in every section of the state, and among both men and women," pollster John Zogby said.

Clinton and Obama have clashed fiercely during the last week over their records in an increasingly rancorous duel for the right to represent the Democratic Party in November's election.

South Carolina is the next test in their back-and-forth battle for the Democratic nomination. Obama won the first contest in Iowa but Clinton won the next two in New Hampshire and Nevada.
While Obama spent the week in the state campaigning, Clinton left for two days and will be gone again when the results are announced. About 10 percent of Democratic voters remain undecided.

The poll in South Carolina showed the economy was the top issue among likely voters, at 38 percent.

Democrats will hold a primary in Florida, but because of a dispute between the state and national parties over the date of the contest none of the presidential contenders have campaigned there.

The rolling poll of 816 likely Democratic voters in South Carolina was taken Thursday and Friday.

In a rolling poll, the most recent day's results are added while the oldest day's results are dropped in order to track changing momentum.

Source: REUTERS/C-SPAN/ZOGBY TRACKING POLL

judythpiazza@newsblaze.com